Speakers & Abstracts

David ADAMSON

Session 6.4 “The Deep Place method: for localised social and climate justice”

The Deep Place methodology was developed in the UK to address the issues facing post-industrial communities where population level economic redundancy created poverty levels where 33% of children live in poverty. The method is a place-based approach to environmentally and socially sustainable economic change that is directly targeted at marginalised populations. It seeks to maximise the value of localised economic activity based on the skills and capacities of local populations. It seeks to develop patterns of employment that are not dependent on globalised relationships, but instead create local innovation in modes of production and ownership. The Deep Place method combines specific theories of social and environmental sustainability to achieve a strategy for positive change. Most importantly, it goes beyond mapping and understanding the pattern of social problems in a specific place, to develop a coherent approach to integration of the local population into economic activity. It does this on an understanding that innovative local economic development must also be regenerative for environmental renewal as well as achieving wellbeing for local populations.

Mik AIDT

Session 3.2 “Find your role in the climate revolution”

A new #AllForClimate poster campaign calls on all citizens to follow seven recommendations, so that the green transformation - 'the climate revolution' - can succeed. Mik explains about the theory of change behind the campaign.

Caroline ALCORSO

Session 10.3 “Opportunities to create more democratic labour processes in Australia”

This paper discusses new ways of working in the disability sector, based on Australian experience and informed by inspirational international models. There has been much attention to how the period of neoliberal economic management in Australia has weakened democratic practices of workplace representation, via trade unions and other labour market institutions. Democratic ways of working have attracted less attention from academia, government or industry since the 1980s and 1990s when industrial democracy was still on the agenda. However, for workers with little formal workplace power but a strong commitment to providing quality services, more 'horizontal' structures and practices can offer a liberating workplace experience and better quality of working life. Since the advent of the radical National Disability Insurance Scheme in 2013, the disability sector has developed a suite of such experiments that other industries could also learn from. Although these do not yet constitute a movement, they represent a form of action research into workplace reform.

Binu ARORA

Session 5.2 "I could do WHAT all along?!" - Build Your Own Individual Climate Action Plan (workshop with Kim Chatterjee, Bernadette Murphy and Supriya Perera)

So you know stuff about the impacts of climate change - whether it's bits and pieces, deep science, or maybe the big picture. As an individual, it can feel overwhelming. You want to do something, you're not sure where to start, or how much more to do at a personal level. Sound familiar? As individuals, we have power we do not fully utilize. So let's unveil what has been there all along. In this workshop we will guide participants through a thoughtful and practical exercise of building a custom picture of each person's personal footprint covering consumption and areas for impact, and reveal the possible ways to connect to communities and the land, the available power, and the potential actions to wield that power. Everyone will come out of the session with a better picture of our personal and collective roles as citizens and custodians, and importantly, with a personal action plan.

Tully BARNETT

Session 12.3 “Reset: Art and Culture in the New Economy” (panel with Justin O’Connor and Julian Meyrick)

This panel will present findings from a series of workshops and seminars focused on a fundamental resetting of art and culture. Rather than an 'industrial sector' we aim to reposition them as part of the social foundation, or 'foundational economy'. This transformation involves re-thinking culture as a public good, as part of social justice and as essential to a sustainable world.

Irena BEE

Session 13.4 “Mindfulness to beat procrastination and inertia”

This incredibly practical workshop is for everyone working to make change while dealing with personal anxiety, blocks, cynicism, compassion fatigue and confidence issues. This workshop was originally developed for higher degree research students and staff at QUT during COVID to deal with all the mental and emotional stress quickly and effectively. All are science-based and tested. The workshop includes: 5 powerful 'in your head' techniques and 3 paper-based methods for managing anxiety and procrastination, 3 hacks for handling difficult conversations, 1 super powerful technique/practice that will take away your anxiety in under 5 minutes (truly). 6 incredibly useful free links/apps to help you stay calm and effective forever.

Willow BERZIN

Plenary session, Saturday 6 Nov 11am AEST “The Regen Movement: City, Regional and National Initiatives” (panel with Bronwen Morgan, Michelle Maloney, Kaj Lofgren, Alice Howard-Vyse & Claire Marshall)

A ‘regenerative economy’ puts ecological health and social justice at the heart of our everyday decision-making. As the costs and damage from extractive economies intensify, ‘sustainability’ seems increasingly insufficient: regeneration moves beyond repair or sustaining the status quo towards transformation and renewal. Inspired by this, a ‘regen’ movement has emerged in 2021, with shoots that reach across regions, towns and cities in Australia. In this panel, we hear from Kaj Lofgren, Michelle Maloney and Alice Howard-Vyse about Regen Melbourne, Regen Brisbane and Regen Sydney respectively - all city-focused initiatives launched in the last year that explore how cities can embed regenerative values into their policy and governance. Willow Berzin will discuss how these initiatives have sparked a national conversation about Doughnut Economics, Claire Marshall will update us on regenerative projects catalysed by WWF across Australia and Michelle Maloney will discuss how the AELA Greenprints Initiative is providing a holistic, Earth-centred guide for Regen Brisbane and other regional community projects, includingDoughnut Economics and other approaches. Join us for a stimulating exploration of the challenges and opportunities opened up by regenerative thinking and how this intersects with Earth-centred thinking, new economic models, participatory decision-making, community engagement, activism and advocacy.

Jorn BETTIN

Session 8.1 “Design Justice and Community Co-design” (workshop with Pete Rive)

Barriers to access, combined with poverty and educational failures create a wicked problem for equity in healthcare provision to marginalised groups. This training session proposes a holistic response to this problem. In Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia there has been an increasing discussion around community co-design of healthcare. However, while ‘design thinking’ and ‘human centred design’ are also mentioned it is difficult to find authentic and effective examples of community co-design. The only way to provide an authentic response is to closely abide by the principle, ‘nothing about us without us’. There is still only a superficial engagement with many communities, with a co-design approach to healthcare services being used only in rare instances. Stigmatised groups and remote communities, are well aware of the limitations and shortcomings of existing healthcare services, and must be centred. Before any community co-design can take place it is essential to remove the biggest barrier to free knowledge exchange — low trust. There are deep historical traumas that must start to be healed, but they require time, patience, and action working with the specific communities. We introduce a “creative collaboration design justice” approach based on our experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Shelley BOWEN

Session 2.3 “The role of government and the public sector in a wellbeing economy” (panel with Clare Mullen, Alison Dalziel, Thea Snow & Tarun Weeramanthri)

We will explore the opportunities and challenges when considering the role of the public sector in a wellbeing economy. The role of the public sector - and public servants - will be critical in a wellbeing economy. Both as they have a role in creating the conditions for a wellbeing economy to emerge and flourish, as well as their role in collecting and redistributing community assets (i.e. taxes and services) in a way that promotes equitable wellbeing.

Fiona BROOKS

(and other Warm Data Hosts from around the world)

Tuesday 2 Nov 4-6pm AEST “People Need People online session (Warm Data Lab)”

What is possible when people meet people as people, not as roles, titles or experts, to discuss the changes and challenges we're living through together?

People Need People are online Warm Data sessions designed by the International Bateson Institute. They create a new form of conversation, reaching beyond polarisation, fracture and silos, and weaving supportive relationships for people in times of need.

From previous participants:

“These sessions are like the best after-dinner conversations you have ever had, with people you may have never met.”
“I suddenly glimpsed a new way of seeing as I listened to someone else describing her sense of the complexities we all live in right now.”

“You get to see what’s important to you in the midst of everything.”

More information about People Need People

Andrew BUCKWELL

Session 2.4 “Ecosystem services and natural capital: Application to sustainable finance”

The twin notions of ‘natural capital’ and ‘ecosystem services’ now present a robust framework for thinking through environmental, social, and economic problems associated with sustainable natural resource management and the distribution of benefits. Economic valuation allows policymakers to assess competing claims between differing natural resource beneficiaries on differing spatial and temporal scales. Valuation techniques have rapidly evolved to assesses the full gamut of economic values, which in turn, has guided private and public funding and finance towards sustainable investments, policies, and planning, which can provide a broader set of benefits more equitably. Latterly, the concepts have been integral to developing consistent and standardised accounting frameworks to augment traditional, narrow measures of wellbeing and in integrating natural capital into national accounts, making the contributions of nature to society transparent. The concepts have had their critics. Complexity, and socially experienced values can confound valuation techniques, and philosophically, the desire to speak the language of the policymakers (monetary value) means that contrary arguments around intrinsic value can neither be made nor won. This presentation will show how innovation in policy and in valuation techniques, based on an understanding of the twin concepts of natural capital and ecosystem services can support more sustainable investments.

Frank BUSCH

Plenary session, Friday 5 November 10:10am AEST “Ancient Wisdom, New Economies” (with Tracey Cooper, Carole Anne Hilton, Laurie Perry, Janene Yazzi, David Isaac & Anne Poelina)

For many decades our First Nations communities, rural and regional areas, Non For Profit organisations, innovators and funding bodies (to name a few) have worked toward rebuilding the oldest model of human community - A model based on the ecological systems of the Earth, community investment models and the traditional knowledge of our First Nations across the planet. This work has been the basis of the greatest movement in human history, because of communications technology and the growing drive to prepare communities for resilient futures. The foundational economy of any country is made up of the network of communities and towns, which create local economies, that feed and resource everyone. Traditionally these networks were linked by trade - trading resources, food, culture and knowledge. To get a glimpse of this growing movement across the globe we talk with First Nations CEO and founder of NationFUND Canada Frank Busch - as he takes us on a journey with First Nations Canadian and South American communities today, as they build resilient and strong local economies. Frank has just started working with First Nations Australian communities, so this session will take us across the Pacific and back to Australia.

EL CARTER

Session 2.2 “Resistance to injustice - Direct Action” (workshop with Anisa Rogers & Will Ross)

Building alternatives to the current competitive, individualistic society is a very important ongoing process, and it is much more powerful when connected with, supporting and being supported by resistance to the injustices. In this workshop we will discuss Direct Action, an important tool used for many years to win concrete progressive changes and protect forests, rivers, houses and so much more.

Session 7.2 “How to make meaningful change and avoid greenwashing” (workshop with Anisa Rogers & Will Ross)

We know the environment is being destroyed and catastrophic climate change is quickly approaching, as well as rising inequality and continued human rights abuses all over the world. And there are many solutions being put forward, by community groups, academics, governments, corporations and more. How do we make sure that the change we are fighting for will not make more destruction? How can we stay true to our core values and not let our ideas and movements be co-opted by the status quo of profit over people? This workshop will explore these questions, explain concepts like greenwashing and capitalism, and start a conversation about the big system change that we really need. The workshop will be very interactive, getting an idea of the core values in the room and discussing the overlap, a small presentation on greenwashing and how capitalism works, and then a discussion on what system change looks like.

Kim CHATTERJEE

Session 5.2 "I could do WHAT all along?!" - Build Your Own Individual Climate Action Plan (workshop with Supriya Perera, Bernadette Murphy and Binu Arora)

So you know stuff about the impacts of climate change - whether it's bits and pieces, deep science, or maybe the big picture. As an individual, it can feel overwhelming. You want to do something, you're not sure where to start, or how much more to do at a personal level. Sound familiar? As individuals, we have power we do not fully utilize. So let's unveil what has been there all along. In this workshop we will guide participants through a thoughtful and practical exercise of building a custom picture of each person's personal footprint covering consumption and areas for impact, and reveal the possible ways to connect to communities and the land, the available power, and the potential actions to wield that power. Everyone will come out of the session with a better picture of our personal and collective roles as citizens and custodians, and importantly, with a personal action plan.

Keri CHIVERALLS

Session 3.2 “Living Lightly Locally: Smarter and Stronger Through Citizen Science”

This paper reflects on the theory and methodology informing development of the 'Living Lightly Locally: Smarter and Stronger through Citizen Science' project. In response to the growing public appetite for meaningful change towards wellbeing, resilience and regenerative living beyond sustainability, this project involves delivery of an adult education program designed to empower people to set goals for change in their households and communities and support them to capture and share the impacts, challenges and successes of their journeys. The project seeks to address the tendency highlighted in the UN’s 6th Global Environment Outlook report for transition scenarios to be dominated by top-down, model-based approaches. While traditional citizen science projects have tended to crowdsource (largely) quantitative data, this project is focused on employing more qualitative research methods to generate a small but ‘richer’ data set that brings local narratives of change at the grassroots level to the fore. The paper will explore some of the strategies developed by the project team to address these issues, as well as considering implications for future research and education in this space.

Tracey COOPER

Plenary session, Friday 5 November 10:10am AEST “Ancient Wisdom, New Economies” (with Frank Busch, Carole Anne Hilton, Laurie Perry, Janene Yazzi, David Isaac & Anne Poelina)

For many decades our First Nations communities, rural and regional areas, Non For Profit organisations, innovators and funding bodies (to name a few) have worked toward rebuilding the oldest model of human community - A model based on the ecological systems of the Earth, community investment models and the traditional knowledge of our First Nations across the planet. This work has been the basis of the greatest movement in human history, because of communications technology and the growing drive to prepare communities for resilient futures. The foundational economy of any country is made up of the network of communities and towns, which create local economies, that feed and resource everyone. Traditionally these networks were linked by trade - trading resources, food, culture and knowledge. To get a glimpse of this growing movement across the globe we talk with First Nations CEO and founder of NationFUND Canada Frank Busch - as he takes us on a journey with First Nations Canadian and South American communities today, as they build resilient and strong local economies. Frank has just started working with First Nations Australian communities, so this session will take us across the Pacific and back to Australia.

Kevin COX

Session 8.4 “Changing from price to value”

With traditional capital markets, the main criteria to select a buyer is how much the buyer is willing to pay. With mutual benefit capital markets, investors receive a fixed return, and the value to the buyer determines the buyer selected. When there are many buyers with the same value, the Co-operative decides with a lottery. Mutual benefit capital markets promote sharing, human connections, and working together for the common good. In doing so, they cost less to operate and are economically efficient. As a result, they outperform traditional capital markets and lead to resilient wealthier communities.

Kimberley CROFTS

Session 10.1 “Role-modelling the Wellbeing Economy: Stories for Change” (workshop with Karina Kallio, Kiran Kashyap, Sam Wearne, Samuel Yu & Monique Potts)

When we think about growing the wellbeing economy, who is bringing it to life? What does it look like, and who does it involve?

In this online creative workshop we will explore the roles we all might play in building a wellbeing economy. This will be a collaborative story-making session where everyone is invited to draw, talk, and explore how we reach a future where everyone thrives. The purpose of this interactive session is to reflect personally and collectively on the future we want and the roles we can play in making it happen. Participants should leave the session with a renewed sense of hope for the future and greater clarity of their place in building it.

This session will be hosted by a collective of PhD researchers from the University of Technology in Sydney who have been collectively exploring transformation and transformative practices.

Stephanie DALE

Session 13.4 “Body Talk: what does living feel like?”

A discussion/yarning circle for adults who’d like to explore language for expressing the actuality of their feelings, as experienced by their body. How do we speak the feelings that have lodged in our bones, blood and flesh? Without metaphor, beyond mental constructs, what is our generalised capacity for connection with the body that is doing our living, and then languaging that? We are not speaking of languaging the mind’s idea of the body – we are speaking of the body, speaking for itself. It appears we have difficulty languaging the physical effect/impact of emotions on the body. What impact might this have on individuals and communities? Our connections? Our abilities to communicate with medical professionals? What changes might occur in our social connections if languaging our physical emotionality were an everyday intelligence? How differently might we approach and resource mental health if this concept was accessible and understood, embedded in our knowing and our language? My PhD research has revealed a propensity among otherwise articulate, self-aware adults for sliding away from the body when asked about the physical impact of their feelings. Gathering in a circle with peers to discuss these ideas may steer us all to new languaging-wellbeing ground.

Alison DALZIEL

Session 2.3 “The role of government and the public sector in a wellbeing economy” (panel with Clare Mullen, Shelley Bowen, Thea Snow & Tarun Weeramanthri)

We will explore the opportunities and challenges when considering the role of the public sector in a wellbeing economy. The role of the public sector - and public servants - will be critical in a wellbeing economy. Both as they have a role in creating the conditions for a wellbeing economy to emerge and flourish, as well as their role in collecting and redistributing community assets (i.e. taxes and services) in a way that promotes equitable wellbeing.

Angela DENNIS

Thursday 4 Nov 10am AEST “NENA Citizen’s Assembly: Job Guarantee vs Universal Basic Income” (session with Selvin Kwong)

Following the emergence of MMT as a policy possibility for funding a wellbeing economy, this session aims to engage the audience in a citizen’s jury or people’s assembly on a debate / discussion about the pros and cons of a Job Guarantee (JG) vs Universal Basic Income (UBI) schemes. The presenters will outline the merits of each scheme (similar to an Oxford debate style format) and open up to the floor for questions and further debate before allowing the audience to cast their choice. Critical questions addressed in this conversation address tensions on how to define wellbeing in an economy, and where values of rights and freedoms intersect. Should the right to work or service to the community take precedence over personal freedoms? Should there be any (strict or loose) conditions placed upon individuals receiving benefits and what are the implications on labour under-utilisation or impact on community members who are unable to work? There are multiple perspectives to consider in weighing up the positives and negatives of each option and its feasibility as a policy proposal.

Gary FLOMENHOFT

Session 8.2 “Reclaiming the Commonwealth and Escaping the Polanyi Matrix”

The new enclosure of the commons goes far beyond the original enclosure of the British Common Lands to encompass nearly every natural and social asset. This theft of common property has proceeded nearly invisibly under the guise of neo-liberal privatization and accomplished with the complicity of governments. This enclosure includes the privatization of land and resources, money and finance, knowledge and education, labor and time, culture, and democracy itself. Polanyi's Great Transformation identified the 3 false commodities leading to the destruction of society: land, money, and labor. In recent years public funding for research in medicine, internet, and broadcast spectrum has all been privatized by corporations. For example, the value of businesses such as Amazon or Google without the internet created by US taxpayers through DARAPA, and made practical by the open source world wide web invented by Tim-Berners Lee is zero. Yet all this value is given away by the government to corporations who then charge us for using our own assets. To recover the stolen commons requires the collection of economic rent from asset owners who have privatized the commons. The author proposes a "public-equity corporation" to recover the commons for the public owners.

Marcus FOTH

Session 8.3 “Rearranging human settlement patterns for more-than-human cities: Economic, governance and environmental benefits” (presentation with Steven Liaros)

Town planning aims to create liveable, equitable, and sustainable cities – aspirations seldom achieved. Concerned with this consistent failure, this article makes a case for a radical break from conventional planning practice with a view to rearranging human settlement patterns and patterns of production and consumption. The three aspects of our case are: (1) economically, we argue for new land tenure arrangements based on stewardship. (2) politically, we revisit Ostrom’s work to propose community commoning as an ongoing activity for local governance, and (3) environmentally, climate change renders a human- centric planning paradigm increasingly untenable. Recognising the intricate entanglements between people and planet, we explore ecological habitat restoration based on the integration of renewable energy, urban water cycles, regenerative agriculture and regenerative development. Grounded in this threefold argument, the paper presents a nascent research agenda for a more-than-human paradigm for better environmental planning and management.

Session 9.3 “Smart Urban Governance for More-than-Human Future(s)” (workshop with Hira Sheikh & Peta Mitchell)

The workshop offers a speculative scenario-building exercise to envision more-than-human futures under smart urban governance following an urban commons framework. The concept of commons has come to prominence in critical urban studies as an effort to deconstruct the neoliberal city and governmentality. The concept of urban commons is grounded on principles of decentralisation, circular economies, place-based knowledge, co-created urban data, and co-governance. Recently, scholars have positioned the concept of commoning as a more-than-human process that mediates the interests of both human and nonhuman communities. Politics of more-than-human commoning is receptive to the geographies and temporalities of the multispecies worlds (Cooke, Landau-Ward, and Rickards 2020). Taking up the commoning framework, the workshop aims to use speculation as a tool for a creative vision to mould feasible future situations outside the constraints of existing neoliberal structures and guide policy interventions to desirable futures with the participants. The workshop program will be designed around the 4-step process of forecasting, future scoping, story making, and backcasting to speculate more-than-human futures.

Morag GAMBLE

Martin GELLENDER

Session 5.1 “University of the Third Age: thriving communities of seniors engaging intellectually and socially”

Lack of social engagement, intellectual stimulation and sense of purpose is widely recognised as detrimental for mental and physical health. This is particularly important for seniors and retirees, who lack social interactions and mental stimulation often provided by work. The loss of social interaction is exacerbated in our modern internet-connected world, where we are increasingly compelled to shop and interact on-line. Basically, businesses do not want to pay for staff to talk to customers. Affluent retirees can “buy” participation in social activities and services, but this is not likely to be viable or effective for most. Rather than rely on businesses or social agencies to meet our need for social and intellectual engagement, many volunteer-based organisations are now providing this need for their own community. In effect, they create a parallel volunteer economy based on goodwill rather than monetary exchange. One excellent example is the University of the Third Age, which draws upon the extraordinary work and life experience of seniors, who volunteer their time and share their passion to teach a diverse range of subjects and skills.

Julie GENDRON

Session 10.4 “Offer Need Machine – Towards a Creative Care Economy” (panel with Kofi Oduro & Macy Siu)

THE OFFER NEED MACHINE (ONM) is a vision for a networked system of care and reciprocity to tackle artist precarity. Born out of research done on economic precariousness that artists face in Canada, ONM is a pilot project that explores the question, how might we realign the use of technology to repurpose artist precarity and work towards a “creative care economy”? The project aims to design, build and test a digital application that motivates continued one-time giving and gifting to scale these instances into a wider networked system of meaningful work, and prosperity. With the simple expectation of a “one-hour gift”, artist/designers and art organizations can access a prototyped platform that addresses their specific production and resource needs through a mechanism for creating connections rooted in interdependence. We propose to facilitate a workshop-based discussion group for participants to interact with prototype features of the platform, such as collective rules of engagement, need/offer discovery, and kinship agreement-making. Participants will be able to contribute to a living prototype, and further the conversation from diverse perspectives on how to build resilience in our increasingly precarious creative communities.

Eleanor GLENN

Plenary session, Sunday 7 Nov 4pm AEST “Next steps: taking action within and across our communities”

Much of the conference focuses on your fantastic initiatives and ideas – the ‘what’ of creating a new economy. This session adds in the ‘how’: what are our next steps to create a new economy? To scale up and include more people? To identify and progress things that underpin and facilitate action across multiple sectors and initiatives?

Nick GONIOS

Session 11.2 “Economics for a climate changing world - the circulist operating model”

circulist was founded on a simple belief that the best companies will be led by a new leadership mindset, solving people and the planet’s biggest problems. A complete picture of a thriving, regenerative, zero-emissions economy is coming into focus: the mission now is to make it a reality. To get to zero emissions by 2050, we need 45% to come from a shift towards circular economy demand and supply side innovations and new systems thinking. Optimism drives our curious and inquisitive senses shaping the future that lies ahead. Our purpose is to foster and support the best manufacturing scaleups of tomorrow as the leading catalysts driving this positive change. Our mission is to work with industry leaders to decouple economic growth from materials production and use. The circulist Readiness Framework (cRF) is designed to map and measure operating capabilities in existing manufacturing led companies and also provide a circulist blueprint for aspiring entrepreneurs who recognise a circular, distributed network of microfactories could become their core operating model. The framework encompasses current capabilities such as design, engineering, subscription management, and recycling and looks to future emerging capabilities. The cRF offers practical and sustainable approaches to circular + distributed microfactories.

Helena GRUNFELD

Session 6.4 “A new governance and economic model in practice: Rojava’s Social and Solidarity Economy” (presentation with Fionn Skiotis)

When the mainly Kurdish populated areas of North and East Syria (Rojava) were liberated from the control of the Syrian regime in 2012, following many years of oppression, they started building one of the most democratic societies globally. Their governance structure consists of local communes that are then federated into larger geographic areas. This structure is referred to as democratic confederalism and includes equal rights for all ethnic and religious groups. This is important as NES is one of the most diverse regions in the Middle East. Women’s rights are instrumental in this model and every structure has co-chairs, one male and one female. Ecology is also an essential element. The economy is structured in a similar way, with principles of the social and solidarity economy (SSE) applied to enterprises. Production is to a large extent undertaken by the self-governing institutions. The paper will focus on some of the cooperative enterprises built under this unique governance structure. The Rojava model is now under significant threat from Turkey and its Jihadist mercenaries, so international solidarity is critical to its survival. We hope the discussion will generate ideas on how NENA members can contribute to this unique form of the SSE.

Uncle GUBIL

Session 5.4 “Using Regenerative Capital Management to create a Healthy Society through fast tracking Village and Regenerative Agriculture” (panel with Mike New, Winfried Sitte, Steven Liaros, Cristelle Maurin & Bev Kliger)

How do we create a Healthy Society for all beings? Society is fragile with climate, agricultural, economic and social distress. Traditional extractive capital management is destroying the planet and society. A shift to regenerative living is needed. Regenerative capital management investing in Ecovillages and Farms that are quadruple-bottom-lined and based on regenerative principles like stewardship, collaboration, holistic design, interconnectedness, human and non-human wellbeing and circular economy can power a societal shift in all aspects of society, reforming the ‘old’ economy, rethinking value and culture, improving the environment and creating returns for investors whilst caring and building wealth for local communities. Creating a range of different villages we can experiment with different lifestyles, governance systems, building and economic practices. A network that will support each other through synergies and social and economic collaboration. This panel will discuss this approach of regenerative capital management, circular economy villages, regenerative agriculture, the support ecosystems that will fast track their development and the transition to a healthy society and economy.

Steven HAIL

Session 13.2 “Deficits that Matter and Deficits that Don’t” (panel with Gabrielle Bond, Phil Lawn & Tori Wade)

We are currently being told that the Federal Budget will be in deficit until at least 2060. We suggest that this is not the most important issue facing Australia and that we need to mobilise our productive capacity to address the deficits that really matter.

PANEL SPEAKERS

Gabrielle Bond: The Sustainable Prosperity Action Group. Gabie will talk about how the group was formed and how we are working to promote environmental sustainability and social justice using an MMT lens.

Dr Tori Wade: Modern Monetary Theory. Tori will give an introduction to Modern Monetary Theory, and discuss how to talk to non-economists.

Prof Phil Lawn: The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI). Phil will describe his development and use of the GPI; and why this is a better measure of the impact of economic activity on social and environmental well-being than the GDP.

Dr Steven Hail: A Universal Job and Income Guarantee. Steven will put the case for a Job Guarantee for Australia and how this will reduce inequality and promote social cohesion

Holger HAMPF

Session 13.1 “Cultural Transformation & The Well-Being Economy Breakthrough Measures for Regenerative Development” (panel with Edward Quevedo)

To achieve a well-being economy, we must move beyond social change toward cultural transformation. We need new institutions in civil society using progressive techniques to assess our progress. This workshop will explore how to bring about these changes in a highly interactive dialogue session.

We will explore the ingredients of human culture that drive well-being: a) an evaluative or cognitive dimension of belonging and joy in exploring one’s potential (inner life); b) an eudaimonic dimension reflecting a sense of life purpose or intentional living (work life); and c) an emotional dimension, reflecting positive affective states, such as happiness, a sense of belonging, and joy (home and life).

We will discuss the emergence of an essential new civil society institution, a Ministry of Culture and Heritage, which can bring measures of well-being into our socio-economic lives. Finally, we will explore the key human capacity for bringing about well-being: character. We will discuss how to measure the growth of character in children and adults, and how to monitor the increase in social cohesion and ecological verdance this capacity evokes. Participants will leave our session with a clear sense of their own ability to contribute to building the well-being economy.

Guy HEALY

Session 10.3 “Reports of the 'death' of the long tail are premature”

This proposal advances three arguments regarding creative labour in new media developed from my PhD, now converted for production as a big book for Routledge, The Production of Global Web-Series in a Networked Age, forthcoming 2022. My PhD and post-doctoral research were supported by Australian Research Council grants DP160100086 and LP180100626. My nine, longitudinal, interview-based cases tracked high-value creator/producer teams on their obstacle-laden creative journeys at a deep level, over the past five years. Firstly, in contrast to the problematic nature of convergence for creative labour, these nine cases of streampunk storytellers exhibit striking patterns of convergence of skill sets across the old media/new media divide. Secondly, in contrast to the long-vexed problem of creative livelihoods as characterized by the stark inequalities of the A/B List, I argue these storytellers exhibit a pattern of sustainability directly paralleling Murdock and Golding’s three economies: the market, public goods and gifting and collaboration. Third, the development with the most profound implications for social change, via networked counter-power (Castells 2007, 248; Slaughter 2017, 163), was seen as diverse creators and writer-producers in the nine cases used socio-technologies to reclaim the power of authentic representation free of the traditional repressive and hegemonic representations that had marginalized them.

Lizz HILLS

Session 4.2 “Plastic Free July and 4 things to share with your kids!”

Plastic Free July® is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution – so we can have cleaner streets, oceans, and beautiful communities. Will you be part of Plastic Free July by choosing to refuse single-use plastics?

Session 13.3 “Offers and Needs Market from the Post-growth Institute”

The Offers and Needs Market is a guided process where community members come together to identify and exchange their passions, knowledge, skills, resources and needs. Whether for free, barter, or a set rate, people offer and need things such as: * Graphic design * A place to live * A box of apples designed to unearth the variety of talents and wealth we each possess, the Offers and Needs Market reminds us of our immense value, and that so much of what we need for a good life exists right within our communities. Through the Offers and Needs Market, participants have found employment and places to live, started new businesses, located items they were needing, and initiated significant friendships. The process is a proven way to boost self-esteem and trust within communities, while dramatically increasing the local sourcing of goods and services.

Carol Anne HILTON

Carol Anne was recently appointed as a senior advisor on the Canadian Federal Economic Growth Council. The Council advises the Federal Finance Minister Morneau on Canadian economic growth.  Carol Anne was also recently appointed to the BC Economic Task Force advising the Ministry of Jobs, Trade, and Technology

Carol Anne is currently authoring ‘Indigenomics- a Global Power Shift’ Carol Anne has led the establishment of a line of thought called #indigenomics- building and developing local Indigenous economies.

Carol Anne’s work has been recognized with a BC Aboriginal Outstanding Business Achievement Award, a Creating Wealth Award from the National Indigenous Council of Elders and Business of the Year Award from the Nuu chah nulth Economic Development Corporation.

Plenary session, Friday 5 November 10:10am AEST “Ancient Wisdom, New Economies” (with Tracey Cooper, Frank Busch, Laurie Perry, Janene Yazzi, David Isaac & Anne Poelina)

For many decades our First Nations communities, rural and regional areas, Non For Profit organisations, innovators and funding bodies (to name a few) have worked toward rebuilding the oldest model of human community - A model based on the ecological systems of the Earth, community investment models and the traditional knowledge of our First Nations across the planet. This work has been the basis of the greatest movement in human history, because of communications technology and the growing drive to prepare communities for resilient futures. The foundational economy of any country is made up of the network of communities and towns, which create local economies, that feed and resource everyone. Traditionally these networks were linked by trade - trading resources, food, culture and knowledge. To get a glimpse of this growing movement across the globe we talk with First Nations CEO and founder of NationFUND Canada Frank Busch - as he takes us on a journey with First Nations Canadian and South American communities today, as they build resilient and strong local economies. Frank has just started working with First Nations Australian communities, so this session will take us across the Pacific and back to Australia.

Becky HIRST

Session 9.2 “Rethinking community engagement using a Public-Initiated Participation (PIP) Model”

In this interactive workshop, Becky Hirst will introduce the Public-Initiated Participation (PIP) as recently published in her new book, For the Love of Community Engagement. The PIP Model was inspired as a result of Becky's intensive work with a small, yet geographically vast, Council in regional South Australia. Existing popular models of community engagement, used around the world, missed the mark for these Elected Members. Members of the Council felt that to them, community engagement needed to be a process where they needed to put in place practices where the community could raise topics of importance to THEM. It was on these topics that the Council would act. The PIP model is circular in concept (there's nothing linear about engaging communities) and puts forward a model where sometimes communities tell the government their plans, sometimes they check with government, sometimes they inspire government, and sometimes they join forces with government. The PIP model is a far cry from the way things currently operate in the world of community! This workshop will present the model and provide opportunities for participants to explore what this approach would need to be successful in the current climate.

David ISAAC

When David is not working, he can be found enjoying disc golf at Queen Elizabeth Park and is an avid ocean yacht racer.

Plenary session, Friday 5 November 10:10am AEST “Ancient Wisdom, New Economies” (with Tracey Cooper, Frank Busch, Laurie Perry, Janene Yazzi, Carol Anne Hilton & Anne Poelina)

For many decades our First Nations communities, rural and regional areas, Non For Profit organisations, innovators and funding bodies (to name a few) have worked toward rebuilding the oldest model of human community - A model based on the ecological systems of the Earth, community investment models and the traditional knowledge of our First Nations across the planet. This work has been the basis of the greatest movement in human history, because of communications technology and the growing drive to prepare communities for resilient futures. The foundational economy of any country is made up of the network of communities and towns, which create local economies, that feed and resource everyone. Traditionally these networks were linked by trade - trading resources, food, culture and knowledge. To get a glimpse of this growing movement across the globe we talk with First Nations CEO and founder of NationFUND Canada Frank Busch - as he takes us on a journey with First Nations Canadian and South American communities today, as they build resilient and strong local economies. Frank has just started working with First Nations Australian communities, so this session will take us across the Pacific and back to Australia.

Phil JONES

Session 5.1 “The Steady State Economy for Year 9 and 10 Science Classes”

This discussion will focus on 9 Moodle based, online Science/Economics lessons designed for students in Years 9 or10. covering: The Structure of Ecosystems, Food and Energy Pyramids, the "Cycle" of Elements, Steady States and Stable Ecosystems, The Growth Economy and the Environment, Limits to Growth, A Closer Look at Boundaries, What a Steady State Economy Will Look Like and Making Progress.

Myfan JORDAN

Session 10.3 “Generation Expendable? Older women workers in the post-pandemic economy”

Generation Expendable? explores workplace outcomes for Australian women over 40 during the coronavirus pandemic. Based on survey data from more than 150 participants and a number of interviews, the research explores the role of the 'dual discriminations' of ageism and sexism in changes to work conditions, circumstances and workplace cultures for older women. With almost three quarters of respondents impacted by the pandemic, the study highlights patterns in the workplace which, researchers argue, articulate the failings of the 'old economy' for mature age women. The study shows the pandemic wrought breakdown in occupational health and safety for female-dominated professions, long-term financial impacts for a group already vulnerable to precarious work, and high levels of what participants describe as ‘toxic’ workplace cultures, with more than 50 per cent experiencing behaviours deemed by the Fair Work Commission to comprise workplace bullying, during 2020. In light of these findings, researchers consider whether Australia’s workplace model, with its hierarchies confined within continuing patriarchal and colonial paradigms, is fit for purpose? Might a more ‘female’ model of working - circular and ‘reproductive’ - better prepare us for future employment and climate crises?

Karina KALLIO

Session 10.1 “Role-modelling the Wellbeing Economy: Stories for Change” (workshop with Samuel Yu, Kiran Kashyap, Sam Wearne, Kimberley Crofts & Monique Potts)

When we think about growing the wellbeing economy, who is bringing it to life? What does it look like, and who does it involve?

In this online creative workshop we will explore the roles we all might play in building a wellbeing economy. This will be a collaborative story-making session where everyone is invited to draw, talk, and explore how we reach a future where everyone thrives. The purpose of this interactive session is to reflect personally and collectively on the future we want and the roles we can play in making it happen. Participants should leave the session with a renewed sense of hope for the future and greater clarity of their place in building it.

This session will be hosted by a collective of PhD researchers from the University of Technology in Sydney who have been collectively exploring transformation and transformative practices.

Kiran KASHYAP

Session 10.1 “Role-modelling the Wellbeing Economy: Stories for Change” (workshop with Karina Kallio, Samuel Yu, Sam Wearne, Kimberley Crofts & Monique Potts)

When we think about growing the wellbeing economy, who is bringing it to life? What does it look like, and who does it involve?

In this online creative workshop we will explore the roles we all might play in building a wellbeing economy. This will be a collaborative story-making session where everyone is invited to draw, talk, and explore how we reach a future where everyone thrives. The purpose of this interactive session is to reflect personally and collectively on the future we want and the roles we can play in making it happen. Participants should leave the session with a renewed sense of hope for the future and greater clarity of their place in building it.

This session will be hosted by a collective of PhD researchers from the University of Technology in Sydney who have been collectively exploring transformation and transformative practices.

Nick KELLY

Session 6.3 “The challenges of transition economics: Hydrogen-powered aviation as a real-world case study” (presentation with Levi Swann)

New technologies can be a catalyst for reforming the “old economy” yet significant challenges remain for ensuring that old problems are not replicated. This talk is grounded in the context of a real-world partnership between researchers and engineers who are working towards hydrogen-powered aviation (H-flight). Australian engineers have been at the cutting edge of developing the technology that makes H-flight possible through electrical propulsion and hydrogen fuel cells. Green hydrogen-powered flight has the potential to reform the old aviation industry for the new economy. Smaller aeroplanes, zero emissions, decentralised airports, a transformed passenger experience, and reduced aircraft maintenance are some potential benefits of this shift in terms of sustainability. Yet even with proof of concept and clear need for the technology, challenges for transition remain. We discuss two perspectives upon this issue: 1) Framing the problem: prior industries (e.g., electric cars, photovoltaics) have faced similar challenges. What learnings are applicable to the present problem? How can we avoid replicating the problems of the old economy with new technologies? 2) Models and allies: our present economy pressures new technologies (e.g., H-flight) towards recreating old paradigms. Aviation is a challenging and capital-intensive business. How might new, democratic business models be made possible?

Bev KLIGER

Session 5.4 “Using Regenerative Capital Management to create a Healthy Society through fast tracking Village and Regenerative Agriculture” (panel with Steven Liaros, Winfried Sitte, Uncle Gubil, Cristelle Maurin & Mike New)

How do we create a Healthy Society for all beings? Society is fragile with climate, agricultural, economic and social distress. Traditional extractive capital management is destroying the planet and society. A shift to regenerative living is needed. Regenerative capital management investing in Ecovillages and Farms that are quadruple-bottom-lined and based on regenerative principles like stewardship, collaboration, holistic design, interconnectedness, human and non-human wellbeing and circular economy can power a societal shift in all aspects of society, reforming the ‘old’ economy, rethinking value and culture, improving the environment and creating returns for investors whilst caring and building wealth for local communities. Creating a range of different villages we can experiment with different lifestyles, governance systems, building and economic practices. A network that will support each other through synergies and social and economic collaboration. This panel will discuss this approach of regenerative capital management, circular economy villages, regenerative agriculture, the support ecosystems that will fast track their development and the transition to a healthy society and economy.

Selvin KWONG

Thursday 4 Nov 10am AEST “NENA Citizen’s Assembly: Job Guarantee vs Universal Basic Income” (session with Angela Dennis)

Following the emergence of MMT as a policy possibility for funding a wellbeing economy, this session aims to engage the audience in a citizen’s jury or people’s assembly on a debate / discussion about the pros and cons of a Job Guarantee (JG) vs Universal Basic Income (UBI) schemes. The presenters will outline the merits of each scheme (similar to an Oxford debate style format) and open up to the floor for questions and further debate before allowing the audience to cast their choice. Critical questions addressed in this conversation address tensions on how to define wellbeing in an economy, and where values of rights and freedoms intersect. Should the right to work or service to the community take precedence over personal freedoms? Should there be any (strict or loose) conditions placed upon individuals receiving benefits and what are the implications on labour under-utilisation or impact on community members who are unable to work? There are multiple perspectives to consider in weighing up the positives and negatives of each option and its feasibility as a policy proposal.

Session 12.2 “Modern Monetary Theory – possibilities and limitations for a wellbeing economy” (workshop with Jason van Tol)

MMT is a promising theoretical idea that is gaining influence within policy making circles, but desperately in need of experimentation, innovation and creation. The pandemic and subsequent fiscal stimulus has driven governments to rethink budgets, deficits, taxes and the limitations of what we can afford as a society. This training workshop aims to generate an understanding of MMT by breathing life into this theory in a participatory way. The session will consist of 3 parts - A summary of MMT as a school of economic thought and a political project, with its claims for sovereign currencies, followed by a demonstration of fiat money circulation where the audience will be engaged with props simulating money production, taxation and bond purchase. The session will end with critiques of MMT, such as the management of inflation and the demand on real goods and services, along with audience input on possibilities/limitations for a wellbeing economy where affordability is no longer the main focus of political debate.

Guy LANE

Jason LASKY

Session 1.4 “tenancyOS:- Shared equity in housing, energy, EV transport, co-working & food”

Localised Tenant Associations 1. Associate to support each other & network. 2. Contract property agent; pay rent via common fund. 3. Attract property owners. Multi year lease contract. 4. Contingency funds and mutual renters insurance. 5. Approach credit union for finance 1st in housing portfolio. Accounting platform: credit issuance, liquidity & housing provision 1. Members bulk purchase credits with discount, keep to spend or trade. 2. 5% for liquidity pools, 5% for platform & jurisdictional applications. 3. 90% invested in housing held by trusts & managed by housing co-ops. 4. Contract lease to buy external property, eg. 15 year settlement. 5. Process for stressed mortgagee to sell to co-operative, with long term affordable tenancy. Redeposit into co-operative, receiving bulk discount rate future tenancy credits. Extend the model to other related services 1. Renewable Energy and storage (VPP) co-operative. 2. EV car & ride sharing, local pods & charging stations. 3. Co-working spaces for members at co-op properties. 4. Cafe co-op, fresh & bulk buy food staples. 5. Bulk buy gym passes, wares, internet, mobile. 6. Co-operative storage facility, bathroom & laundry facilities. 7. Builder worker's cooperative: mobile, tiny, cabin & co-housing.

Rosemary Jill LEONARD

Session 6.1 “Plotting Our Progress: Evaluating our social, environmental, and economic projects against the GEN impact goals, UN STGs and One Planet Living goals” (presentation with Paulo Goncalves de Oliveira)

Narara Ecovillage on the NSW Central Coast aims to demonstrate social, environmental, and economic sustainability. Like all ecovillages it is a living experiment in which people attempt to work together at the local level to create thriving communities. The establishment of an ecovillage is a culmination of many projects small and large such as: building infrastructure, building renewable energy and water systems, restoring the land, growing food, building a sense of belonging, attracting new members. Usually people come with strong social and environmental values and therefore are drawn to such projects. However, the economic aspect might not come so easily and yet it is vital for the survival of the village. To avoid alienating value-driven members it needs to be integrated with the social and environmental aspects. The challenge is to create financial sustainability with projects that enhance social and environmental wellbeing.

The present study evaluates a range of projects within Narara Ecovillage against the GEN impact goals, UN STGs and One Planet Living goals. It examines projects initiated by the Community, Land, and Business Circles to identify the extent to which they address multiple goals and achieve an integrated contribution to wellbeing.

Steven LIAROS

Session 3.1 “Circular Food Futures: What will they look like?”

This paper explores how circular economy (CE) debates might support the changes needed for a sustainable future food system. An analysis of the food system by reference to the three objectives of a CE is carried out to determine how food systems may be organised to (a) design out waste and pollution, (b) keep products and materials in use and (c) regenerate natural systems. One critique of CE debates is their failure to explore systemic shifts and possible futures that are not an extrapolation of current conditions. This analysis of the food system points to the need for a decentralised network of diverse, polyculture farms, each with integrated energy and water micro-grids, managed at a local level. Co-locating food producers with consumers, as much as possible, creates an integrated village system at the food-water-energy-housing nexus. Villages may then be networked to enable collaboration for sharing of rarer skills or the satisfaction of more complex needs and wants, forming a trading network of circular economy villages. It is therefore posited that the transition to a fully circular economy will require a paradigm shift—another agricultural revolution—the transition away from large-scale industrial agriculture to a decentralised network of circular food systems.

Session 5.4 “Using Regenerative Capital Management to create a Healthy Society through fast tracking Village and Regenerative Agriculture” (panel with Mike New, Winfried Sitte, Uncle Gubil, Cristelle Maurin & Bev Kliger)

How do we create a Healthy Society for all beings? Society is fragile with climate, agricultural, economic and social distress. Traditional extractive capital management is destroying the planet and society. A shift to regenerative living is needed. Regenerative capital management investing in Ecovillages and Farms that are quadruple-bottom-lined and based on regenerative principles like stewardship, collaboration, holistic design, interconnectedness, human and non-human wellbeing and circular economy can power a societal shift in all aspects of society, reforming the ‘old’ economy, rethinking value and culture, improving the environment and creating returns for investors whilst caring and building wealth for local communities. Creating a range of different villages we can experiment with different lifestyles, governance systems, building and economic practices. A network that will support each other through synergies and social and economic collaboration. This panel will discuss this approach of regenerative capital management, circular economy villages, regenerative agriculture, the support ecosystems that will fast track their development and the transition to a healthy society and economy.

Session 8.3 “Rearranging human settlement patterns for more-than-human cities: Economic, governance and environmental benefits” (presentation with Marcus Foth)

Town planning aims to create liveable, equitable, and sustainable cities – aspirations seldom achieved. Concerned with this consistent failure, this article makes a case for a radical break from conventional planning practice with a view to rearranging human settlement patterns and patterns of production and consumption. The three aspects of our case are: (1) economically, we argue for new land tenure arrangements based on stewardship. (2) politically, we revisit Ostrom’s work to propose community commoning as an ongoing activity for local governance, and (3) environmentally, climate change renders a human- centric planning paradigm increasingly untenable. Recognising the intricate entanglements between people and planet, we explore ecological habitat restoration based on the integration of renewable energy, urban water cycles, regenerative agriculture and regenerative development. Grounded in this threefold argument, the paper presents a nascent research agenda for a more-than-human paradigm for better environmental planning and management.

Kaj LOFGREN

Plenary session, Saturday 6 Nov 11am AEST “The Regen Movement: City, Regional and National Initiatives” (panel with Bronwen Morgan, Willow Berzin, Michelle Maloney, Alice Howard-Vyse & Claire Marshall)

A ‘regenerative economy’ puts ecological health and social justice at the heart of our everyday decision-making. As the costs and damage from extractive economies intensify, ‘sustainability’ seems increasingly insufficient: regeneration moves beyond repair or sustaining the status quo towards transformation and renewal. Inspired by this, a ‘regen’ movement has emerged in 2021, with shoots that reach across regions, towns and cities in Australia. In this panel, we hear from Kaj Lofgren, Michelle Maloney and Alice Howard-Vyse about Regen Melbourne, Regen Brisbane and Regen Sydney respectively - all city-focused initiatives launched in the last year that explore how cities can embed regenerative values into their policy and governance. Willow Berzin will discuss how these initiatives have sparked a national conversation about Doughnut Economics, Claire Marshall will update us on regenerative projects catalysed by WWF across Australia and Michelle Maloney will discuss how the AELA Greenprints Initiative is providing a holistic, Earth-centred guide for Regen Brisbane and other regional community projects, includingDoughnut Economics and other approaches. Join us for a stimulating exploration of the challenges and opportunities opened up by regenerative thinking and how this intersects with Earth-centred thinking, new economic models, participatory decision-making, community engagement, activism and advocacy.

Michelle MALONEY

Tuesday 2 Nov 12.15-2pm AEST “Rethinking Value in a Wellbeing Economy”

Plenary session, Saturday 6 Nov 11am AEST “The Regen Movement: City, Regional and National Initiatives” (panel with Bronwen Morgan, Willow Berzin, Kaj Lofgren, Alice Howard-Vyse & Claire Marshall)

A ‘regenerative economy’ puts ecological health and social justice at the heart of our everyday decision-making. As the costs and damage from extractive economies intensify, ‘sustainability’ seems increasingly insufficient: regeneration moves beyond repair or sustaining the status quo towards transformation and renewal. Inspired by this, a ‘regen’ movement has emerged in 2021, with shoots that reach across regions, towns and cities in Australia. In this panel, we hear from Kaj Lofgren, Michelle Maloney and Alice Howard-Vyse about Regen Melbourne, Regen Brisbane and Regen Sydney respectively - all city-focused initiatives launched in the last year that explore how cities can embed regenerative values into their policy and governance. Willow Berzin will discuss how these initiatives have sparked a national conversation about Doughnut Economics, Claire Marshall will update us on regenerative projects catalysed by WWF across Australia and Michelle Maloney will discuss how the AELA Greenprints Initiative is providing a holistic, Earth-centred guide for Regen Brisbane and other regional community projects, includingDoughnut Economics and other approaches. Join us for a stimulating exploration of the challenges and opportunities opened up by regenerative thinking and how this intersects with Earth-centred thinking, new economic models, participatory decision-making, community engagement, activism and advocacy.

Plenary session, Sunday 7 Nov 4pm AEST “Building the network”

Claire MARSHALL

Plenary session, Saturday 6 Nov 11am AEST “The Regen Movement: City, Regional and National Initiatives” (panel with Bronwen Morgan, Willow Berzin, Kaj Lofgren, Alice Howard-Vyse & Michelle Maloney)

A ‘regenerative economy’ puts ecological health and social justice at the heart of our everyday decision-making. As the costs and damage from extractive economies intensify, ‘sustainability’ seems increasingly insufficient: regeneration moves beyond repair or sustaining the status quo towards transformation and renewal. Inspired by this, a ‘regen’ movement has emerged in 2021, with shoots that reach across regions, towns and cities in Australia. In this panel, we hear from Kaj Lofgren, Michelle Maloney and Alice Howard-Vyse about Regen Melbourne, Regen Brisbane and Regen Sydney respectively - all city-focused initiatives launched in the last year that explore how cities can embed regenerative values into their policy and governance. Willow Berzin will discuss how these initiatives have sparked a national conversation about Doughnut Economics, Claire Marshall will update us on regenerative projects catalysed by WWF across Australia and Michelle Maloney will discuss how the AELA Greenprints Initiative is providing a holistic, Earth-centred guide for Regen Brisbane and other regional community projects, includingDoughnut Economics and other approaches. Join us for a stimulating exploration of the challenges and opportunities opened up by regenerative thinking and how this intersects with Earth-centred thinking, new economic models, participatory decision-making, community engagement, activism and advocacy.

Judy MATTHEWS

Session 10.2 “Rethinking Value with Circular Economy Initiatives”

Living in 21 Century and seeing and experiencing the effect of past ways of thinking and doing has shown us that the notions that have dominated our behaviour for the past centuries will not create the future we desire for our families, communities and our planet. Central to new ways of being is the challenge to rethink our values and focus on people and planet before profit. While our understanding about sustainability and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals have shown a direction and have taken us some distance towards helping to create more positive futures, we propose that our focus now needs to progress past ‘make, use and dispose’ approach to the perspective of a circular economy focused on “designing out waste and pollution; keeping products and materials in use; and regenerating natural systems”. In this paper, we narrow the focus of a circular economy on the potential of building and construction for designing out waste, making better use of our natural resources and creating the potential for regenerating natural systems. We present findings from research and present one case study that demonstrates multiple aspects of an economics that cares for people, nature and our futures.

Cristelle MAURIN

Session 5.4 “Using Regenerative Capital Management to create a Healthy Society through fast tracking Village and Regenerative Agriculture” (panel with Steven Liaros, Winfried Sitte, Uncle Gubil, Mike New & Bev Kliger)

How do we create a Healthy Society for all beings? Society is fragile with climate, agricultural, economic and social distress. Traditional extractive capital management is destroying the planet and society. A shift to regenerative living is needed. Regenerative capital management investing in Ecovillages and Farms that are quadruple-bottom-lined and based on regenerative principles like stewardship, collaboration, holistic design, interconnectedness, human and non-human wellbeing and circular economy can power a societal shift in all aspects of society, reforming the ‘old’ economy, rethinking value and culture, improving the environment and creating returns for investors whilst caring and building wealth for local communities. Creating a range of different villages we can experiment with different lifestyles, governance systems, building and economic practices. A network that will support each other through synergies and social and economic collaboration. This panel will discuss this approach of regenerative capital management, circular economy villages, regenerative agriculture, the support ecosystems that will fast track their development and the transition to a healthy society and economy.

Christine MCDOUGALL

Session 3.4 “Rethinking value - Synergistic Accounting - honouring value in 6 domains of input, 6 domains of output”

Reduced to a timesheet. To cogs in the machine. Husks of humans and life. We can do better. Nature does not do monoculture. The human monoculture of money strips dignity, love, care and comprehensive consideration of our collective future from how we engage as multi-dimensional beings in our full expression. When we invite multiple forms of value to everything we do we create cultures of creativity, opening the field to the human mind working together synergistically. Synergistic Accounting is a working model, not a theory. It deploys the 12 Degrees of Freedom from the work of R.Buckminster Fuller. It commences with the sovereign expression of capacity, willingness and desire able to be brought to an enterprise or project in 6 domains, and for this contribution, the reflection of what we expect in return in the same 6 domains. No domain can hold supremacy over another. When we invite people to speak to their Synergistic Audit we simultaneously invite the whole human, and open pathways to deep connection and intimacy.

Andrew MCLEAN

Session 7.3 “Collaborative Housing, an important piece of the new economy” (panel with Clare Ogden)

Collaborative housing, like eco villages, can free up time, build skills, and release people from the financial roundabout. Economic permaculture shows how closed loop systems and economic maturity can free the human spirit to be what we need to be. The new economy will be human scale. Local, not global. Surely the challenge of the next 100 years for humans is to learn how to work together again. Collaborative housing is not for everyone, but it does offer a potent solution, and deep connection for those who choose to live like this. A more connected life is vital to a decolonized, gentler way of living. In community, it’s much easier to connect to self, others and the earth in community. For us, it’s impossible to think of a new world and a new economy without thinking of real housing solutions and community.

Joanne MCNEILL

Session 10.2 “Exploring circularity mind-sets: Ideas into Action”

Over the last decade, circular economy concepts have shifted from being a fairly niche interest area into a mainstream discourse that has strongly influenced policy agendas around the globe, including amongst peak bodies, global corporations, policy makers and government entities at all levels. Proponents frame the concept as inherently disruptive of traditional ‘take-make-waste’ extractive industrial models, and suggest that in a circular economy ‘economic activity builds and rebuilds overall system health’[1]. The full potential of circular economy concepts is well captured by John Elkington in his description of ‘Green Swans’[2], which he argues will be central to bringing about the scale of change needed in the 21st Century. Elkington suggests Green Swans are “dynamics, trajectories, pathways that take us exponentially toward things that we do want to see”[3] and that they will affect “a profound market shift . . . changing paradigms, values, mind-sets, politics, policies, technologies, business models, and other key factors[4].” Whilst full scale systems change on this scale may seem a distant future, positive efforts are being made to collate and share knowledge around a range of circular economy activities already occurring[5]. However, there remains a great deal to be learnt about how aspirations can be operationalised, particularly at different scales and in different contexts. We recognise that new models, like those articulated by Elkington, are to shift-the-dial in ways that transform systems across multiple dimensions, they must go beyond the technocratic and materials focused framings that currently dominate the circular economy narrative. At The Yunus Centre, we are interested in how we might shift the focus towards ‘circularity mind-sets’. This framing opens up a more holistic vision for the circular economy and makes more visible the opportunities, relationships and flows which we see as characterising the potential. Importantly, for us, intentionally designing-in regenerative and distributive outcomes is central to a circularity mindset. We are therefore currently exploring how through our work we can foster ‘circularity mindsets’ that strengthen and prioritise regenerative and distributive models of enterprise. This paper will provide an overview of the approach using examples drawn from projects we are engaged with.

Julian MEYRICK

Session 12.3 “Reset: Art and Culture in the New Economy” (panel with Tully Barnett and Justin O’Connor)

This panel will present findings from a series of workshops and seminars focused on a fundamental resetting of art and culture. Rather than an 'industrial sector' we aim to reposition them as part of the social foundation, or 'foundational economy'. This transformation involves re-thinking culture as a public good, as part of social justice and as essential to a sustainable world.

Michelle MILLER

Session 3.1 “Transitioning agriculture for resilience and wellbeing”

The growth economy drives agriculture that is industrial-scale, manufacturing-derived, synthetic chemical-dependent, and monocrop-based. The scale, reliance on inputs, lack of diversity etc have devastating results on ecology, farming communities and – it can be argued - our economy. Many have found hope in the regenerative agriculture movement. The premise is that, by working holistically with nature and its ability to self-organise, heal and renew, agriculture can be ecologically and economically viable long term. It’s an exciting time and a fast-growing movement, fraught with debates. More and more farmers are interested. But farmers can’t do it alone. Farmers rely on (ideally local) ecosystems of suppliers, education, processing, distribution, retailing, and consumers. The system is us. We are the consumers, the businesses, and the communities that can choose a future where our agriculture is regenerative. We can choose local, regional economies. We can choose land management that mitigates climate change and creates resilience in the face of drought, floods and bushfires. We can choose food sovereignty and justice. We can choose connection to community and country. We can create space for healing. So, what’s your role? Let's discuss! Presentation from the speaker’s PhD research, ‘Designing for Transition’, UTS HREC Ref No. ETH20-5436.

Jenna MIKUS

Session 10.4 “Designing for the Aristotelian concept of Eudaemonia as an Approach to Well-Being”

This proposed talk is built on more than 10 years of design-for-health industry experience but focuses on findings from ongoing PhD-related research that explores a pragmatic approach of designing for Aristotle’s concept of Eudaemonic Well-Being (i.e., being one’s best self), when considered in the context of intentional wellbeing-based design in the built environment.An Approach to Human Health:This study builds on established positive psychology theory that suggests how to design for eudaemonia. By conducting creative methods-based design research remotely during COVID, the researcher has established an understanding of participants’ past, current, and desired future home lives resulting in visualized and articulated qualities of an idyllic, flourishing-supportive home environment.An Approach to Societal and Environmental Health:By following this process, the researcher is identifying a eudaemonic design framework and design guidelines to transform findings into actionable output and proactively prompt a greater likelihood of healthier, happier occupants at home and in their communities. This developed understanding of environments that support happier and healthier individuals has the added potential benefit of enhancing deeper connections with nature (i.e., environmental stewardship)—prompting more altruistic actions and improved environmental health.

Peta MITCHELL

Session 9.3 “Smart Urban Governance for More-than-Human Future(s)” (workshop with Marcus Foth & Hira Sheikh)

The workshop offers a speculative scenario-building exercise to envision more-than-human futures under smart urban governance following an urban commons framework. The concept of commons has come to prominence in critical urban studies as an effort to deconstruct the neoliberal city and governmentality. The concept of urban commons is grounded on principles of decentralisation, circular economies, place-based knowledge, co-created urban data, and co-governance. Recently, scholars have positioned the concept of commoning as a more-than-human process that mediates the interests of both human and nonhuman communities. Politics of more-than-human commoning is receptive to the geographies and temporalities of the multispecies worlds (Cooke, Landau-Ward, and Rickards 2020). Taking up the commoning framework, the workshop aims to use speculation as a tool for a creative vision to mould feasible future situations outside the constraints of existing neoliberal structures and guide policy interventions to desirable futures with the participants. The workshop program will be designed around the 4-step process of forecasting, future scoping, story making, and backcasting to speculate more-than-human futures.

Clare MULLEN

Session 2.3 “The role of government and the public sector in a wellbeing economy” (panel with Alison Dalziel, Shelley Bowen, Thea Snow & Tarun Weeramanthri)

We will explore the opportunities and challenges when considering the role of the public sector in a wellbeing economy. The role of the public sector - and public servants - will be critical in a wellbeing economy. Both as they have a role in creating the conditions for a wellbeing economy to emerge and flourish, as well as their role in collecting and redistributing community assets (i.e. taxes and services) in a way that promotes equitable wellbeing.

Bernadette MURPHY

Session 5.2 "I could do WHAT all along?!" - Build Your Own Individual Climate Action Plan (workshop with Kim Chatterjee, Binu Arora and Supriya Perera)

So you know stuff about the impacts of climate change - whether it's bits and pieces, deep science, or maybe the big picture. As an individual, it can feel overwhelming. You want to do something, you're not sure where to start, or how much more to do at a personal level. Sound familiar? As individuals, we have power we do not fully utilize. So let's unveil what has been there all along. In this workshop we will guide participants through a thoughtful and practical exercise of building a custom picture of each person's personal footprint covering consumption and areas for impact, and reveal the possible ways to connect to communities and the land, the available power, and the potential actions to wield that power. Everyone will come out of the session with a better picture of our personal and collective roles as citizens and custodians, and importantly, with a personal action plan.

Michael MURRAY

Session 8.2 “Peak Property - Real Estate or an Unreal State?”

Is it time to rethink private property? This discussion will walk us through the development of private property and how we got to where we are. From the enclosure acts in England in the 1700s, followed by colonisation and the disposition of first-world peoples to the culmination of real estate over dwellings and the complete transformation of the idea of "home". Every valuable piece of land is now fenced, enclosed and owned. Is there a way back down from the ever-increasing property ladder? This presentation will discuss the idea of the middle way for more people to find home security. Between Social Housing (supposedly government-funded) and the speculative property market is the idea of off-market property. This includes Community Land Trusts, Tiny Homes, Build to Rent, Co-housing, Rural Land Share Communities, community buy-back and land redistribution that has already begun in some places around the world. But to get there we need to discuss the "Tragedy of the Commons" and the counterargument of "Governing the Commons". Sharing the land and living together more communally means compromise and tolerance. That may be the hardest part!

Mike NEW

Session 5.4 “Using Regenerative Capital Management to create a Healthy Society through fast tracking Village and Regenerative Agriculture” (panel with Steven Liaros, Winfried Sitte, Uncle Gubil, Cristelle Maurin & Bev Kliger)

How do we create a Healthy Society for all beings? Society is fragile with climate, agricultural, economic and social distress. Traditional extractive capital management is destroying the planet and society. A shift to regenerative living is needed. Regenerative capital management investing in Ecovillages and Farms that are quadruple-bottom-lined and based on regenerative principles like stewardship, collaboration, holistic design, interconnectedness, human and non-human wellbeing and circular economy can power a societal shift in all aspects of society, reforming the ‘old’ economy, rethinking value and culture, improving the environment and creating returns for investors whilst caring and building wealth for local communities. Creating a range of different villages we can experiment with different lifestyles, governance systems, building and economic practices. A network that will support each other through synergies and social and economic collaboration. This panel will discuss this approach of regenerative capital management, circular economy villages, regenerative agriculture, the support ecosystems that will fast track their development and the transition to a healthy society and economy.

Kerrie OAKES

Session 9.1 “Community-supported herbalism and cooperative models of healthcare”, brought to you by the NENA Health & Wellbeing Hub

As a modern, prosperous nation, Australia has reached a level of economic maturity where the pursuit of growth is no longer meeting our needs for a life of health, wealth and fulfilment. With increasing clarity, we are seeing that our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health is the most important wealth there is – and now is the time to re-examine the ways we can evolve our economy to better enable the quality and distribution of this wealth. In this presentation, Kerrie draws on her experiences within the healthcare sector to highlight social factors impacting our health and also how health outcomes can be improved through local, financially inclusive access to diverse healthcare services. Kerrie will share her experiences in creating a community-supported model of healthcare and how this is contributing to a new economy of human and planetary wellbeing.

Justin O’CONNOR

Session 12.3 “Reset: Art and Culture in the New Economy” (panel with Tully Barnett and Julian Meyrick)

This panel will present findings from a series of workshops and seminars focused on a fundamental resetting of art and culture. Rather than an 'industrial sector' we aim to reposition them as part of the social foundation, or 'foundational economy'. This transformation involves re-thinking culture as a public good, as part of social justice and as essential to a sustainable world.

Kofi ODURO

Session 10.4 “Offer Need Machine – Towards a Creative Care Economy” (panel with Macy Siu & Julie Gendron)

THE OFFER NEED MACHINE (ONM) is a vision for a networked system of care and reciprocity to tackle artist precarity. Born out of research done on economic precariousness that artists face in Canada, ONM is a pilot project that explores the question, how might we realign the use of technology to repurpose artist precarity and work towards a “creative care economy”? The project aims to design, build and test a digital application that motivates continued one-time giving and gifting to scale these instances into a wider networked system of meaningful work, and prosperity. With the simple expectation of a “one-hour gift”, artist/designers and art organizations can access a prototyped platform that addresses their specific production and resource needs through a mechanism for creating connections rooted in interdependence. We propose to facilitate a workshop-based discussion group for participants to interact with prototype features of the platform, such as collective rules of engagement, need/offer discovery, and kinship agreement-making. Participants will be able to contribute to a living prototype, and further the conversation from diverse perspectives on how to build resilience in our increasingly precarious creative communities.

Clare OGDEN

Session 7.3 “Collaborative Housing, an important piece of the new economy” (panel with Andrew McLean)

Collaborative housing, like eco villages, can free up time, build skills, and release people from the financial roundabout. Economic permaculture shows how closed loop systems and economic maturity can free the human spirit to be what we need to be. The new economy will be human scale. Local, not global. Surely the challenge of the next 100 years for humans is to learn how to work together again. Collaborative housing is not for everyone, but it does offer a potent solution, and deep connection for those who choose to live like this. A more connected life is vital to a decolonized, gentler way of living. In community, it’s much easier to connect to self, others and the earth in community. For us, it’s impossible to think of a new world and a new economy without thinking of real housing solutions and community.

JP PARKER

Session 7.4 “MacroEco: Reframing Currency for a Post-Extractivist World” (workshop with Anouk Pinchetti)

To create a world and a future that truly works for humanity and our planet, it's essential to understand the meta-mechanics behind what we perceive as value, and how we circulate it. Doing the forensics on what doesn't work only gets us so far. And as the digitisation/tokenisation of everything proceeds on its exponential path, it is now subsuming what we've heretofore understood as "currency" (our representations of circulation/media of exchange, aka money). Join us for a series of brief presentations—conversation starters, really—followed by a roundtable discussion to re-examine our assumptions about money, finance, value/values, and how we might reinvent them for a regenerative world.

Alexar PENDASHTEH

Session 4.3 “Decentralised Autonomous Organisations” (workshop with Akasha Rose, David Bovill & Anouk Pinchetti)

DAOs, in their general definition, present a great opportunity to imagine self-organised communities, organisations and societies that harness the power of collective intelligence. Since its conception in 2015, DAO as a concept has come a long way to be legally recognised in the state of Wyoming in 2021. In this panel discussion, we define DAOs, explore use-cases and discuss challenges and potentials.

Laurie PERRY

This attitude of collaboration and consolidation has placed WNAC in a high profile position within the Hunter Valley and surrounding regions.

As a traditional member of the Wonnarua Aboriginal Nation since 1964 Laurie’s cultural roots are as a direct descendant of Sarah Madoo the matriarch of the surviving family of traditional owners of Wonnarua Aboriginal Nation - the Madoo family on Laurie’s mother’s side.

Wonnarua Country is in the largest mining, wine and tourism industry area in Australia. Laurie's skill in bringing the corporate world together with First Nations and the non for profit sector has resulted in ground breaking projects and partnerships. Laurie sees his role in building diversity in future Aboriginal Industry, where the key objectives support youth, emerging Elders and current Elders needs. This includes reducing the high levels of incarceration across the region, creating an economic future for all Aboriginal people living in Wonnarua Country. Laurie is passionate about looking after WNACs membership, to make sure this traditional country is legislatively protected.

Plenary session, Friday 5 November 10:10am AEST “Ancient Wisdom, New Economies” (with Tracey Cooper, Frank Busch, Carol Anne Hilton, Janene Yazzi, David Isaac & Anne Poelina)

For many decades our First Nations communities, rural and regional areas, Non For Profit organisations, innovators and funding bodies (to name a few) have worked toward rebuilding the oldest model of human community - A model based on the ecological systems of the Earth, community investment models and the traditional knowledge of our First Nations across the planet. This work has been the basis of the greatest movement in human history, because of communications technology and the growing drive to prepare communities for resilient futures. The foundational economy of any country is made up of the network of communities and towns, which create local economies, that feed and resource everyone. Traditionally these networks were linked by trade - trading resources, food, culture and knowledge. To get a glimpse of this growing movement across the globe we talk with First Nations CEO and founder of NationFUND Canada Frank Busch - as he takes us on a journey with First Nations Canadian and South American communities today, as they build resilient and strong local economies. Frank has just started working with First Nations Australian communities, so this session will take us across the Pacific and back to Australia.

Supriya PERERA

Session 5.2 "I could do WHAT all along?!" - Build Your Own Individual Climate Action Plan (workshop with Kim Chatterjee, Bernadette Murphy and Binu Arora)

So you know stuff about the impacts of climate change - whether it's bits and pieces, deep science, or maybe the big picture. As an individual, it can feel overwhelming. You want to do something, you're not sure where to start, or how much more to do at a personal level. Sound familiar? As individuals, we have power we do not fully utilize. So let's unveil what has been there all along. In this workshop we will guide participants through a thoughtful and practical exercise of building a custom picture of each person's personal footprint covering consumption and areas for impact, and reveal the possible ways to connect to communities and the land, the available power, and the potential actions to wield that power. Everyone will come out of the session with a better picture of our personal and collective roles as citizens and custodians, and importantly, with a personal action plan.

Anouk PINCHETTI

Session 4.3 “Decentralised Autonomous Organisations” (workshop with Alexar Pendashteh, David Bovill & Akasha Rose)

DAOs, in their general definition, present a great opportunity to imagine self-organised communities, organisations and societies that harness the power of collective intelligence. Since its conception in 2015, DAO as a concept has come a long way to be legally recognised in the state of Wyoming in 2021. In this panel discussion, we define DAOs, explore use-cases and discuss challenges and potentials.

Session 7.4 “MacroEco: Reframing Currency for a Post-Extractivist World” (workshop with JP Parker)

To create a world and a future that truly works for humanity and our planet, it's essential to understand the meta-mechanics behind what we perceive as value, and how we circulate it. Doing the forensics on what doesn't work only gets us so far. And as the digitisation/tokenisation of everything proceeds on its exponential path, it is now subsuming what we've heretofore understood as "currency" (our representations of circulation/media of exchange, aka money). Join us for a series of brief presentations—conversation starters, really—followed by a roundtable discussion to re-examine our assumptions about money, finance, value/values, and how we might reinvent them for a regenerative world.

Anne Poelina

Monique POTTS

Session 5.1 “An experiment in learning for a wellbeing economy”

As part of our journey of transition to a wellbeing economy an accompanying transition is required in our education systems. This transition involves a shift from a focus primarily on intellectual expertise and cognitive ability to one of being, wellbeing and interbeing. A new approach to experiential learning which enables children and young people to ‘Define themselves as ‘healthy’ amidst conditions collectively viewed as adverse.’ (Ungar, 2004). This job of transforming our education systems alongside our economy becomes increasingly urgent in light of the growing crisis in mental health with one in four young Australians experiencing significant psychological distress (Mission Australia & Black Dog Institute, 2019).

Drawing on research findings from a pilot program in a Sydney high school this paper explores new models of learning that support students to develop resilience, mental health and wellbeing. This pilot program includes modules on co-design, place-based learning, storytelling and perspective, systems thinking and futures thinking. The aim of the learning is to support young people to develop a set of meta-competencies including interbeing, empathy, creativity, adaptability, self-awareness and reflexivity and agency/autonomy. These meta-competencies align with a broader relational understanding of resilience being the way a young person interacts with their own environment.

Session 10.1 “Role-modelling the Wellbeing Economy: Stories for Change” (workshop with Karina Kallio, Kiran Kashyap, Sam Wearne, Kimberley Crofts & Samuel Yu)

When we think about growing the wellbeing economy, who is bringing it to life? What does it look like, and who does it involve?

In this online creative workshop we will explore the roles we all might play in building a wellbeing economy. This will be a collaborative story-making session where everyone is invited to draw, talk, and explore how we reach a future where everyone thrives. The purpose of this interactive session is to reflect personally and collectively on the future we want and the roles we can play in making it happen. Participants should leave the session with a renewed sense of hope for the future and greater clarity of their place in building it.

This session will be hosted by a collective of PhD researchers from the University of Technology in Sydney who have been collectively exploring transformation and transformative practices.

Lisa POWELL

Session 3.4 “Responding to Crises: ‘Rewilding’ Accounting Education for the Anthropocene”

Responding to COVID-19, this conceptual paper draws upon posthumanist and ecofeminist thought and the concept of rewilding to challenge the anthropocentric, speciesist and human/nature dualist properties of accounting education. We develop an accounting ecopedagogy that aims to shape new narratives of accounting education. We take a critical stance in analysing the human-centered accounting education model. We explore how this model can be reimagined as an accounting ecopedagogy that fosters a collective disposition with all species and greater interdependence with the natural world. Rewilding learning interventions are used to embed an ecopedagogic approach in accounting curricula design and extend accounting education beyond its exclusively human focus. Interventions practically explored with application to accounting include learning with and from nature, drawing upon Indigenous knowledge perspectives, play as a common language, and empathy as a dialogical bridge. This paper adds to limited research investigating accounting within the context of the anthropocene. Investigations into the Anthropocene’s human-centered discourse in accounting are vital to respond adequately to crises. This paper further extends social and environmental accounting education literature to encompass less anthropocentric discourse and greater holistic, relational forms of learning.

Edward QUEVEDO

Session 13.1 “Cultural Transformation & The Well-Being Economy Breakthrough Measures for Regenerative Development” (panel with Holger Hampf)

To achieve a well-being economy, we must move beyond social change toward cultural transformation. We need new institutions in civil society using progressive techniques to assess our progress. This workshop will explore how to bring about these changes in a highly interactive dialogue session.

We will explore the ingredients of human culture that drive well-being: a) an evaluative or cognitive dimension of belonging and joy in exploring one’s potential (inner life); b) an eudaimonic dimension reflecting a sense of life purpose or intentional living (work life); and c) an emotional dimension, reflecting positive affective states, such as happiness, a sense of belonging, and joy (home and life).

We will discuss the emergence of an essential new civil society institution, a Ministry of Culture and Heritage, which can bring measures of well-being into our socio-economic lives. Finally, we will explore the key human capacity for bringing about well-being: character. We will discuss how to measure the growth of character in children and adults, and how to monitor the increase in social cohesion and ecological verdance this capacity evokes. Participants will leave our session with a clear sense of their own ability to contribute to building the well-being economy.

Robert RATTLE

Session 8.3 “Citizen empowered spatial privacy in the smart city: growing a wellbeing economy from the bottom up”

The smart city harvests data to inform urban decision making and improve service delivery, aspiring to perform a central role in urban sustainability, democracy and climate mitigation and adaptation. Citizen spatial data is central to the smart city. The harvesting of smart city data might be viewed as the urban extension of surveillance capitalism; the capitalist appropriation of the means of production through surplus data acquired from data-driven technology and infrastructure applied to predict and shape citizen behaviour for profit. Smart city surveillance capitalism reproduces the power imbalances between those who own and operate the infrastructures and data harvesting with citizens whose data fuels data-driven smart cities. This raises concerns about smart city privacy practices, erodes trust and calls into question smart city aspirations. Largely absent in the smart city agenda are democratic practices and participatory decision-making approaches that empower citizens. This presentation will discuss practices that empower citizens in smart city decision-making using contextual relevance and critical reflection to define the boundaries of spatial privacy. Such practices enable citizen ownership and trust while supporting a transition away from surveillance capitalism and towards a new economy that aligns with community values and the aspirational goals of the smart city.

Jose RAMOS

JOSE'S SESSION - "LAUNCH OF THE COSMOLOCAL READER" - Sunday 7th November @ 11.40am - 12.40am Qld time (Session 11.3)

Jay RIDGEWELL

Thurs 4 Nov 4pm-5:30pm online and Sunday 7 Nov 7.45am-9.15am in person, “Guided nature therapy as ‘self-care’ for our greater Earth-selves”

Guided nature therapy packs the potential to improve the wellbeing of communities and ecosystems, and the improvements to an individual’s immediate physical and mental health can be seen as a beneficial side effect. In this short session* Jay will introduce the fundamentals of relational guided nature therapy. Participants will be invited to experience a sensory locating activity as a taster of guided nature therapy.

In 2021, the term ‘wellbeing’ is often conflated with ‘self-care’, individualism, material consumption and being only available to the privileged in wealthy countries. This stands in stark contrast to the various studies that show mental health and life satisfaction are better in poorer areas of the world. Both strong nature connectedness and community connectedness have been linked with boosting individual resilience, pro-social and pro-environmental behaviours. These are essential traits for softening the impacts of the ecological crisis. Guided nature therapy offers a simple modality to acknowledge and revere Country, improve the wellbeing of individuals and strengthen the bonds between humans and the more-than-human world.

Participants will be able to experience a full guided nature therapy session (60 – 120 mins) as a conference side event in a nearby location and/or virtually via zoom

Chris RIEDY and the NENA Narratives Hub

Session 1.1 “Changing the story: launching the NENA Narratives Festival 2022”

Abstract coming soon.

Matthew RIMMER

Session 6.2 “Coal-Faced - The Australian Intellectual Property Dispute between AGL and Greenpeace: Culture-Jamming, Creative Confrontation, and Climate Activism”

This presentation considers the intellectual property dispute between AGL and Greenpeace over Greenpeace's campaign, Coal-Faced: Exposing AGL as Australia’s Biggest Climate Polluter. In response to Greenpeace's campaign, Coal-Faced: Exposing AGL as Australia’s Biggest Climate Polluter, AGL Energy Limited sued Greenpeace for copyright infringement and trademark infringement. Greenpeace argued that its campaign was protected by the defence of fair dealing for parody and satire under copyright law. Burley J of the Federal Court of Australia largely found in favour of Greenpeace. His Honour found that the Greenpeace campaign was mainly within the scope of the defence of fair dealing for parody of satire – with the exception of a protest poster image; three placards; and three social media posts. The judge granted injunctive relief in respect of the uses that infringe copyright; but otherwise the proceedings were dismissed. The judge did not find that additional damages were warranted. Burley J also found that AGL’s trademark infringement against Greenpeace failed. The presentation considers the larger implications of this litigation for environmental activism, climate advocacy, and freedom of political communication.

Session 10.2 “The Right to Repair: Intellectual Property and Sustainable Development”

This presentation considers the push for a right to repair in Australia. It explores the leadership on the right to repair by ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury and investigates the inquiry undertaken by the Productivity Commission into the topic. It explores the legal issues in respect of intellectual property, consumer law and competition policy - as well as larger concerns about e-waste, product stewardship, and the development of a circular economy. This paper also looks at comparative developments in relation to the right to repair. In the United States, President Joe Biden has issued executive orders, giving force to the right to repair, and the Federal Trade Commission has announced enforcement action. The Parliament of Canada is considering a private member's bill for law reform for the right to repair. The European Union has developed an eco-design regime. The United Kingdom has also recently passed some new measures to promote eco-design. This paper also considers international developments in respect of the UN Sustainable Development Goals - most notably, the goal focused on sustainable production and consumption. It investigates the establishment of a network of Accelerator Labs by the UNDP's Achim Steiner to boost the realisation of the sustainable development goals.

Kate RINGVALL

Session 3.3 “Priorities for workplace wellbeing”

Galactic® Co-operative is a WA-based, socially responsible, worker-owned technology business who implemented an award-winning workplace wellbeing program. It is pretty obvious that treating workers well and minimising psychosocial and physical risk factors at work is the ethically right thing to do, to make people happier and avoid unnecessary suffering. But it might be less obvious that good workplace wellbeing also improves the bottom line. It decreases costs and compensation claims and improves profitability. Moreover, both consumers and investors are getting increasingly excited about corporate social responsibility and the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), and good workplace wellbeing directly contributes to UN SDG 3 Good Health and Wellbeing. We propose an online video discussion group. We’ll start with a quick introduction of what’s involved in and the benefits of workplace wellbeing and the intersections with sustainability. Then we’ll facilitate a group discussion with online voting to generate prioritised lists of what’s important to people at the intersection of workplace wellbeing and the New Economy space: (1) psychosocial wellbeing, (2) financial wellbeing (i.e., related to financial stress and job insecurity) and (3) environmental wellbeing (disaster trauma, eco anxiety, climate despair etc.).

Pete RIVE

Session 8.1 “Design Justice and Community Co-design” (workshop with Jorn BETTIN)

Barriers to access, combined with poverty and educational failures create a wicked problem for equity in healthcare provision to marginalised groups. This training session proposes a holistic response to this problem. In Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia there has been an increasing discussion around community co-design of healthcare. However, while ‘design thinking’ and ‘human centred design’ are also mentioned it is difficult to find authentic and effective examples of community co-design. The only way to provide an authentic response is to closely abide by the principle, ‘nothing about us without us’. There is still only a superficial engagement with many communities, with a co-design approach to healthcare services being used only in rare instances. Stigmatised groups and remote communities, are well aware of the limitations and shortcomings of existing healthcare services, and must be centred. Before any community co-design can take place it is essential to remove the biggest barrier to free knowledge exchange — low trust. There are deep historical traumas that must start to be healed, but they require time, patience, and action working with the specific communities. We introduce a “creative collaboration design justice” approach based on our experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Aleesha RODRIGUEZ

Session 7.1 “Creating connection through Authentic Relating”

Authentic Relating is a practice that aims to cultivate more genuine, fulfilling, and mutually rewarding relationships. Authentic Relating is about building empathy and connection, while practicing important skills such as deep listening and setting boundaries with peers. Moving to the next economy fundamentally requires a rethinking of our own wellbeing and how we connect to others. Authentic Relating is achieved through a series of games and activities that may involve speaking, asking questions, physical movement, meditation, or some combination of these. These activities are intended to be fun, low-stakes, and participants can choose if, or how much, they wish to participate in each activity. This 50-minute workshop will facilitate three Authentic Relating games to nurture connection between NENA attendees.

Anisa ROGERS

Session 2.2 “Resistance to injustice - Direct Action” (workshop with El Carter & Will Ross)

Building alternatives to the current competitive, individualistic society is a very important ongoing process, and it is much more powerful when connected with, supporting and being supported by resistance to the injustices. In this workshop we will discuss Direct Action, an important tool used for many years to win concrete progressive changes and protect forests, rivers, houses and so much more.

Session 7.2 “How to make meaningful change and avoid greenwashing” (workshop with El Carter & Will Ross)

We know the environment is being destroyed and catastrophic climate change is quickly approaching, as well as rising inequality and continued human rights abuses all over the world. And there are many solutions being put forward, by community groups, academics, governments, corporations and more. How do we make sure that the change we are fighting for will not make more destruction? How can we stay true to our core values and not let our ideas and movements be co-opted by the status quo of profit over people? This workshop will explore these questions, explain concepts like greenwashing and capitalism, and start a conversation about the big system change that we really need. The workshop will be very interactive, getting an idea of the core values in the room and discussing the overlap, a small presentation on greenwashing and how capitalism works, and then a discussion on what system change looks like.

Millie ROONEY

Session 11.1 “Possibilities for a new public good agenda”

What public good do you want available to you and your community? Who should provide it? How do we collectively shape a new public good agenda? Australia reMADE has been running, and supporting others to run, a series of three consecutive conversations across diverse communities centred around these questions. Facilitators across different networks and experiences are sharing insights, building connections, and elevating a conversation about what should drive decision making in this country.

In this workshop we’ll present some of the preliminary findings of this work and invite you into the conversation. We’ll work through how our insights might be useful to your work, and chat together about building greater collaborations for a new public good agenda.

There is so much incredible work being done across the country to build the public good and we’re excited about explicitly setting an agenda that enables big picture transformative collaboration.

Akasha ROSE

Session 4.3 “Decentralised Autonomous Organisations” (workshop with Alexar Pendashteh, David Bovill & Anouk Pinchetti)

DAOs, in their general definition, present a great opportunity to imagine self-organised communities, organisations and societies that harness the power of collective intelligence. Since its conception in 2015, DAO as a concept has come a long way to be legally recognised in the state of Wyoming in 2021. In this panel discussion, we define DAOs, explore use-cases and discuss challenges and potentials.

Will ROSS

Session 2.2 “Resistance to injustice - Direct Action” (workshop with El Carter & Anisa Rogers)

Building alternatives to the current competitive, individualistic society is a very important ongoing process, and it is much more powerful when connected with, supporting and being supported by resistance to the injustices. In this workshop we will discuss Direct Action, an important tool used for many years to win concrete progressive changes and protect forests, rivers, houses and so much more. wield that power. Everyone will come out of the session with a better picture of our personal and collective roles as citizens and custodians, and importantly, with a personal action plan.

Session 7.2 “How to make meaningful change and avoid greenwashing” (workshop with El Carter & Anisa Rogers)

We know the environment is being destroyed and catastrophic climate change is quickly approaching, as well as rising inequality and continued human rights abuses all over the world. And there are many solutions being put forward, by community groups, academics, governments, corporations and more. How do we make sure that the change we are fighting for will not make more destruction? How can we stay true to our core values and not let our ideas and movements be co-opted by the status quo of profit over people? This workshop will explore these questions, explain concepts like greenwashing and capitalism, and start a conversation about the big system change that we really need. The workshop will be very interactive, getting an idea of the core values in the room and discussing the overlap, a small presentation on greenwashing and how capitalism works, and then a discussion on what system change looks like.

Janet SALISBURY

Session 1.2 “Building a unified national agreement for Australia’s climate response” (workshop with Rhian Williams)

The Women’s Climate Congress was founded in early 2020 with twin objectives: promoting/amplifying women's voices in political discourse; and bringing together currently polarised voices to resolve current disputes and agree national priorities and actions to address climate risks [1]. To achieve this objective we developed a proposal for a unifying and deliberative process with independent mediation to bring together representative groups with diverse affiliations, expertise and perspectives to agree national priorities and actions to address climate risks [2]. It is a big challenge to gain political commitment for such a process in the currently polarised party political environment. The Women’s Climate Congress is approaching this by promoting and amplifying women’s voices and the distinctive position of women to call for greater attention to nurture of life and custodianship of the planet as a basis for policy making. In an open discussion we welcome input from participants on these ideas and to hear about other approaches that could achieve national unity for timely action on climate change. [1] Women’s Climate Congress Vision, values and commitment statement (WCCwebsite/About) [2] Building a unified national agreement for Australia’s climate response, Proposal for an inclusive process to address climate risks, Women’s Climate Congress, Nov2020 (WCCwebsite/Resources).

Min SETO

Session 4.4 “Can valuing wellbeing create a brighter future?”

Our current paradigm is based upon a growth economy; we need to sell more and buy more and make more profit so that our economy continues to grow. We have now reached a point where we are realising that this construct is not sustainable. Our planet, and hence our society as we know it, will very quickly cease to exist if we continue our current trajectory.

While there are many who are reimagining what a new economic model might look like, one that puts people and planet at the center, what practical steps can we start taking now to transition towards the type of future we are still struggling to conceptualise?

Through new methodologies like Wellbeing Valuation, we can now value the impacts on an individual’s wellbeing created by a particular change or activity. By monetizing improvements in wellbeing we are able to start including these impacts on people into our current financial decision making processes. Incorporating the real impacts (both positive and negative) that result from our activities, into a cost benefit analysis, will provide a more comprehensive assessment of our activities and allow us to make better decisions with improved outcomes for society.

Hira SHEIKH

Session 9.3 “Smart Urban Governance for More-than-Human Future(s)” (workshop with Marcus Foth & Peta Mitchell)

The workshop offers a speculative scenario-building exercise to envision more-than-human futures under smart urban governance following an urban commons framework. The concept of commons has come to prominence in critical urban studies as an effort to deconstruct the neoliberal city and governmentality. The concept of urban commons is grounded on principles of decentralisation, circular economies, place-based knowledge, co-created urban data, and co-governance. Recently, scholars have positioned the concept of commoning as a more-than-human process that mediates the interests of both human and nonhuman communities. Politics of more-than-human commoning is receptive to the geographies and temporalities of the multispecies worlds (Cooke, Landau-Ward, and Rickards 2020). Taking up the commoning framework, the workshop aims to use speculation as a tool for a creative vision to mould feasible future situations outside the constraints of existing neoliberal structures and guide policy interventions to desirable futures with the participants. The workshop program will be designed around the 4-step process of forecasting, future scoping, story making, and backcasting to speculate more-than-human futures.

Emily SIMS

Session 1.3 “A tax shift for our future"

The power of our tax system to restructure our economy and society for the better is underestimated. It’s time to talk about the tax shift we need for Australia. The Henry Tax review in 2010 comprehensively set forth the tax reforms that should be prioritised over the following decade. However when it came to passing these reforms, including the resource super profits tax and the carbon tax, political opposition from small but powerful groups of interested people won out repeatedly. This workshop presents a project of narrative development for tax policy research institute Prosper Australia. "A tax shift for our future" provides both a grand vision of a future towards which we can strive, as well as being a practical lens through which to view any change in Australian tax policy. It describes how we might articulate the urgent bipartisan tax reform agenda needed to align our social, economic, and ecological goals. It is our hope that it will be useful for a number of organisations across the policy space and across the political spectrum. It’s time to recognise tax as a steering force in building the new economy.

Winfried SITTE

Session 5.4 “Using Regenerative Capital Management to create a Healthy Society through fast tracking Village and Regenerative Agriculture” (panel with Mike New, Uncle Gubil, Steven Liaros, Cristelle Maurin & Bev Kliger)

How do we create a Healthy Society for all beings? Society is fragile with climate, agricultural, economic and social distress. Traditional extractive capital management is destroying the planet and society. A shift to regenerative living is needed. Regenerative capital management investing in Ecovillages and Farms that are quadruple-bottom-lined and based on regenerative principles like stewardship, collaboration, holistic design, interconnectedness, human and non-human wellbeing and circular economy can power a societal shift in all aspects of society, reforming the ‘old’ economy, rethinking value and culture, improving the environment and creating returns for investors whilst caring and building wealth for local communities. Creating a range of different villages we can experiment with different lifestyles, governance systems, building and economic practices. A network that will support each other through synergies and social and economic collaboration. This panel will discuss this approach of regenerative capital management, circular economy villages, regenerative agriculture, the support ecosystems that will fast track their development and the transition to a healthy society and economy.

Macy SIU

Session 10.4 “Offer Need Machine – Towards a Creative Care Economy” (panel with Kofi Oduro & Julie Gendron)

THE OFFER NEED MACHINE (ONM) is a vision for a networked system of care and reciprocity to tackle artist precarity. Born out of research done on economic precariousness that artists face in Canada, ONM is a pilot project that explores the question, how might we realign the use of technology to repurpose artist precarity and work towards a “creative care economy”? The project aims to design, build and test a digital application that motivates continued one-time giving and gifting to scale these instances into a wider networked system of meaningful work, and prosperity. With the simple expectation of a “one-hour gift”, artist/designers and art organizations can access a prototyped platform that addresses their specific production and resource needs through a mechanism for creating connections rooted in interdependence. We propose to facilitate a workshop-based discussion group for participants to interact with prototype features of the platform, such as collective rules of engagement, need/offer discovery, and kinship agreement-making. Participants will be able to contribute to a living prototype, and further the conversation from diverse perspectives on how to build resilience in our increasingly precarious creative communities.

Fionn SKIOTIS

Session 6.4 “A new governance and economic model in practice: Rojava’s Social and Solidarity Economy” (presentation with Helena Grunfeld)

When the mainly Kurdish populated areas of North and East Syria (Rojava) were liberated from the control of the Syrian regime in 2012, following many years of oppression, they started building one of the most democratic societies globally. Their governance structure consists of local communes that are then federated into larger geographic areas. This structure is referred to as democratic confederalism and includes equal rights for all ethnic and religious groups. This is important as NES is one of the most diverse regions in the Middle East. Women’s rights are instrumental in this model and every structure has co-chairs, one male and one female. Ecology is also an essential element. The economy is structured in a similar way, with principles of the social and solidarity economy (SSE) applied to enterprises. Production is to a large extent undertaken by the self-governing institutions. The paper will focus on some of the cooperative enterprises built under this unique governance structure. The Rojava model is now under significant threat from Turkey and its Jihadist mercenaries, so international solidarity is critical to its survival. We hope the discussion will generate ideas on how NENA members can contribute to this unique form of the SSE.

Kiah SMITH

Session 4.1 “Fair Food Futures for SEQ – Add your voice!”

This workshop invites all food activists, scholars, practitioners, growers and eaters to discuss and share their hopes for a ‘Fair Food Future’. Building on research undertaken in the SEQ region during 2021, participants will be guided to interact with a series of draft ‘scenarios’ that illustrate pathways for food system transformation that benefit people and planet. The study draws on the theory and practice of Food Utopias - a concept that explores how people are re-imagining what a better food system might look like in response to multiple food, climate and economic crises – and uses innovative action research to illustrate civic actors’ visions for reclaiming food economies. Some exciting and novel scenarios are already emerging: ones based in ‘grassroots sustainability’ or ‘eco-social balance’, and others that emphasise indigenous sovereignty, democratic technologies, ethical consumption and young farmers. In this workshop, we ask you to tell us what needs to change to make these futures come true! Your views on the findings will be used to refine the scenarios before we present them to policy makers.

Thea SNOW

Session 2.3 “The role of government and the public sector in a wellbeing economy” (panel with Alison Dalziel, Shelley Bowen, Thea Snow & Tarun Weeramanthri)

We will explore the opportunities and challenges when considering the role of the public sector in a wellbeing economy. The role of the public sector - and public servants - will be critical in a wellbeing economy. Both as they have a role in creating the conditions for a wellbeing economy to emerge and flourish, as well as their role in collecting and redistributing community assets (i.e. taxes and services) in a way that promotes equitable wellbeing.

Sue STACK

Session 2.1 “Writing the language of the future”

This is a creative workshop where we time travel to the futures our hearts yearn for, and dream what this world might look like - how we govern, labour, learn, decide, share resources, love etc. In this place there is a rich language that uses words and concepts that bring a different way of being and relating with the earth and with each other. Some of these words are emerging, some we have made up, and some come from various cultures around the world. How can we bring these words alive so that they live within us? Each of us will take one word (and its definition) and write a short narrative that illustrates that word. We will have time to read each other’s work and draw insights. You may like to bring some made up or existing words (and definitions) that you would like to contribute to those we are curating, particularly that offer new perspectives around economy, democracy and governance. There is an opportunity to continue the writing and dreaming in a regular writing group - Unleashing Alternative Futures, where we share intriguing prompts and facilitation.

Levi SWANN

Session 6.3 “The challenges of transition economics: Hydrogen-powered aviation as a real-world case study” (presentation with Nick Kelly)

New technologies can be a catalyst for reforming the “old economy” yet significant challenges remain for ensuring that old problems are not replicated. This talk is grounded in the context of a real-world partnership between researchers and engineers who are working towards hydrogen-powered aviation (H-flight). Australian engineers have been at the cutting edge of developing the technology that makes H-flight possible through electrical propulsion and hydrogen fuel cells. Green hydrogen-powered flight has the potential to reform the old aviation industry for the new economy. Smaller aeroplanes, zero emissions, decentralised airports, a transformed passenger experience, and reduced aircraft maintenance are some potential benefits of this shift in terms of sustainability. Yet even with proof of concept and clear need for the technology, challenges for transition remain. We discuss two perspectives upon this issue: 1) Framing the problem: prior industries (e.g., electric cars, photovoltaics) have faced similar challenges. What learnings are applicable to the present problem? How can we avoid replicating the problems of the old economy with new technologies? 2) Models and allies: our present economy pressures new technologies (e.g., H-flight) towards recreating old paradigms. Aviation is a challenging and capital-intensive business. How might new, democratic business models be made possible?

Gavin TANG

Session 8.4 “Banking and finance as the key to creating a New Economy”

Our current world (capitalist) economy is based on a version of ‘growth’ that enables money to make money without any labour involved, i.e. unearned income. An economy which is structured around unearned income creates ever increasing inequality, and a whole host of problems ensue from that, including unemployment, environmental unsustainability, unaffordable housing and corruption of the legislatures. The three main sources of unearned income are: interest payments on loans, corporate dividends, and land rental. It leads to the absolute dominance of the economy (respectively) by banks, share owned corporations, and the military (whose relationship to land is via the control of natural resources). If one takes control of the banking system, i.e. the management of money creation, in the right way, one can use a ‘commons bank’ to eliminate all three sources of unearned income: private banking (by not guaranteeing their deposits), corporations by the cooperative structure, land returned to common ownership. The above can easily be done with the appropriate national government. However with the right structures in place, it can also be done as a grassroots project. An introduction to this subject is at https://fractaleconomy.coop/p2

Session 9.4 “Using a community bank to forge a New Economy”

A credit union or something similar, can forge the New Economy if it is combined with another activity which can be described briefly as follows: Members of the bank are encouraged to buy preferentially from other members of the bank, so that the members of the bank become a network of buyers and sellers. Sale transactions can be recorded. The seller is then charged a ‘commission’ or ‘community contribution’ of say 3-5% of the sale value. There will be plenty of incentives for people to partake in this and pay the commission. The revenue derived will be much greater than interest charged on loans. This revenue can be given away to not-for-profits to support the community. It can also be used to guarantee the banks’ loans. The bank will then be in a position to do what no other community bank can do: create cooperatives in large numbers, loan money at low/no interest rates to a community land trust, finance community projects at low/no interest rates, and so on. This ‘community contribution’ project can be undertaken without a community bank behind it, albeit much harder. More info at https://fractaleconomy.coop/p2

Eloise TELFORD

Session 12.1 “Place as a Dimension of Localisation”

'Placemaking' is a concept first used in the 1960s in the US to describe a new relationship to how public space was conceived of. It brought together the grassroots strategies of 'tactical urbanism' with decision-makers, and aimed to take people out of their silos of urban design, town planning, development and community engagement towards a more human-centric city-making process. The term has now gained wide popularity across the world, with Australia's peer network now over 1000 members strong, and many in the built environment realm taking on the approach. This workshop aims to inspire, facilitate rich discussion and equip attendees with the skills to turn their 'spaces' into 'places' in their own neighbourhoods and beyond.

Jason VAN TOL

Session 12.2 “Modern Monetary Theory – possibilities and limitations for a wellbeing economy” (workshop with Selvin Kwong)

MMT is a promising theoretical idea that is gaining influence within policy making circles, but desperately in need of experimentation, innovation and creation. The pandemic and subsequent fiscal stimulus has driven governments to rethink budgets, deficits, taxes and the limitations of what we can afford as a society. This training workshop aims to generate an understanding of MMT by breathing life into this theory in a participatory way. The session will consist of 3 parts - A summary of MMT as a school of economic thought and a political project, with its claims for sovereign currencies, followed by a demonstration of fiat money circulation where the audience will be engaged with props simulating money production, taxation and bond purchase. The session will end with critiques of MMT, such as the management of inflation and the demand on real goods and services, along with audience input on possibilities/limitations for a wellbeing economy where affordability is no longer the main focus of political debate.

Megan WARD

Session 12.4 “Guidance from Ancient Feminine Lineage”

The ancient art of storytelling has existed for thousands of years and still remains one of the most authentic and effective methods of communication. Through shared stories our lives are enriched, creating connection, community, and shared values and beliefs. Since the advent of neoliberalism in the 1970’s, we have seen a continual degradation of this beautiful earth. Sharing values and beliefs is critical if we are to find a new economic story to replace the unsustainable one that we have been living with. At times our minds can become restricted, cluttered and overwhelmed by the relentless tide of climate change news. To create a new story, we need a clear and creative mind, one that opens the heart, leads the brain to clarity and invites the mind to act. Through the ancient lineage and wisdom of universal feminine storytelling, we can access powerful allies and tools within us. Connecting once more to the ancient way of being, where the earth whispers through natural signs and images the invisible weaving of oneness. Through this guidance, we can then create the reality of the world we wish to live in.

Matthew WASHINGTON

Session 2.4 “‘Value’ plays an important role in economics, monetary theory and Ethics. Given these diverse roles it is worthwhile to un-muddy the waters to understand where its use, rather than abuse, can best serve our communities”

There can be confusion about "value". Its different aspects arise within varied social exchanges. Does Value only truly emerge, in its most useful form, as the “price” of a goods or services, resulting from the trading in a competitive market? This is a familiar way to look at value in our current world, dominated by Neoclassical economics. Or is 'to come to value something', a social skill we learn? Is it derived from how we must evaluate certain items, just personal choices? Is this merely a simple, social process, similar to asking “what we like”, or “dislike”. Or is it perhaps an important human trait, where we come "to form a view' that certain things, or qualities discerned are ones we esteem. It is this aspect of the evaluative process where we can do better than to treat the natural world as mere resources and people as driven by self interest alone. In short, value is not only found in passive participation in social processes quantitatively measured, such as in GDP. Qualitative judgements are necessary to achieve a shared vision. We build and we discern value(s)? An important theme is “where does value(s) sit between intention and action”?

Sam WEARNE

Session 10.1 “Role-modelling the Wellbeing Economy: Stories for Change” (workshop with Karina Kallio, Kiran Kashyap, Samuel Yu, Kimberley Crofts & Monique Potts)

When we think about growing the wellbeing economy, who is bringing it to life? What does it look like, and who does it involve?

In this online creative workshop we will explore the roles we all might play in building a wellbeing economy. This will be a collaborative story-making session where everyone is invited to draw, talk, and explore how we reach a future where everyone thrives. The purpose of this interactive session is to reflect personally and collectively on the future we want and the roles we can play in making it happen. Participants should leave the session with a renewed sense of hope for the future and greater clarity of their place in building it.

This session will be hosted by a collective of PhD researchers from the University of Technology in Sydney who have been collectively exploring transformation and transformative practices.

Tarun WEERAMANTHRI

Session 2.3 “The role of government and the public sector in a wellbeing economy” (panel with Alison Dalziel, Shelley Bowen, Thea Snow & Tarun Weeramanthri)

We will explore the opportunities and challenges when considering the role of the public sector in a wellbeing economy. The role of the public sector - and public servants - will be critical in a wellbeing economy. Both as they have a role in creating the conditions for a wellbeing economy to emerge and flourish, as well as their role in collecting and redistributing community assets (i.e. taxes and services) in a way that promotes equitable wellbeing.

Moira WERE

Session 1.4 “Building a Global Perpetual Fund to Work on the worlds to-do list”

This presentation will share how SheEO is building a global perpetual fund to support female founders work on the worlds to-do list (SDGs) and how Australia's contribution to the community is supporting racial justice along the way.

Graham WOOD

Session 6.1 “Their Future is in your hands”

A 230 page comprehensive long-term 80 year Plan to resolve catastrophic threats facing Australians is nearing completion. Existential threats predicting high risks to humanity and the biosphere have been reviewed. The underlying causes have been examined and why Australia has been unable to take appropriate action. A Vision for a secure future, a Strategy for how to achieve that Vision and an implementation Plan to resolve the underlying causes will be presented. Integrated solution includes: ---Steady State Economy incorporating Ecological Economics, ---Ecologically Sustainable Population, ---Funded plan (MMT or levy) to transition off fossil fuels in 15 years, ---Australian Climate Dividend Plan, ---Establish non-partisan Enduring Legislative Framework, ---Establish Australian Climate Change Mitigation Authority, Peak Bodies Review Committee, Joint Parliamentary Committee, Citizen Assembly and Governor General Oversight, ---National communication plan to inspire all Australians, ---Building a Social Movement starting with a 4 part TV Series, ---Handbook for Mitigation – Worlds Best Practice, ---Restoration of Biosphere, ---MMT to fund mitigation, adaptation, and major R&D, ---Transition to full employment and a more equitable society. Implementing these changes together will accelerate Australia's transition to a sustainable future, address the many threats to humanity and provide a model example to other democratic states globally.

Janene YAZZI

Janene which works with Dine' (Navajo) communities to promote sustainability, environmental justice, and self-governance. She co-founded the first Navajo Nation community-led watershed planning program to assert local control in the sustainable management, restoration, and protection of natural resources.

Janene serves as the New Mexico lead for Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief, an all-volunteer grassroots Indigenous-led group operating on the Navajo and Hopi Reservations. Her work has earned international recognition. Janene is Sustainable Development Program Coordinator for the International Indian Treaty Council and the council's representative as co-convenor of the Indigenous Peoples Major Group of the U.N. High-Level Political Forum on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

"I am fortunate to come from a place where the footprints of my ancestors are tied to the landscape," stated Yazzie. "It's this inherent and ancestral knowledge that ties our modern struggles to something deeper than achieving equality and inclusiveness in imperfect man made systems and institutions that do not understand the sacred and inherent value of the universe."

Plenary session, Friday 5 November 10:10am AEST “Ancient Wisdom, New Economies” (with Tracey Cooper, Frank Busch, Carol Anne Hilton, Laurie Perry, David Isaac & Anne Poelina)

For many decades our First Nations communities, rural and regional areas, Non For Profit organisations, innovators and funding bodies (to name a few) have worked toward rebuilding the oldest model of human community - A model based on the ecological systems of the Earth, community investment models and the traditional knowledge of our First Nations across the planet. This work has been the basis of the greatest movement in human history, because of communications technology and the growing drive to prepare communities for resilient futures. The foundational economy of any country is made up of the network of communities and towns, which create local economies, that feed and resource everyone. Traditionally these networks were linked by trade - trading resources, food, culture and knowledge. To get a glimpse of this growing movement across the globe we talk with First Nations CEO and founder of NationFUND Canada Frank Busch - as he takes us on a journey with First Nations Canadian and South American communities today, as they build resilient and strong local economies. Frank has just started working with First Nations Australian communities, so this session will take us across the Pacific and back to Australia.

Samuel YU

Session 10.1 “Role-modelling the Wellbeing Economy: Stories for Change” (workshop with Karina Kallio, Kiran Kashyap, Sam Wearne, Kimberley Crofts & Monique Potts)

When we think about growing the wellbeing economy, who is bringing it to life? What does it look like, and who does it involve?

In this online creative workshop we will explore the roles we all might play in building a wellbeing economy. This will be a collaborative story-making session where everyone is invited to draw, talk, and explore how we reach a future where everyone thrives. The purpose of this interactive session is to reflect personally and collectively on the future we want and the roles we can play in making it happen. Participants should leave the session with a renewed sense of hope for the future and greater clarity of their place in building it.

This session will be hosted by a collective of PhD researchers from the University of Technology in Sydney who have been collectively exploring transformation and transformative practices.